Hiding
by Volans
Summary: Harry tired of having things hidden from him and being manipulated decides to run away. Ginny helps. HPGW -Complete-
1. Gifts and Owl Post

**Disclaimer: Nothings mine, its all Rowling's. **

**Chapter 1 – Gifts and Owl Post**

Harry Potter trudged up the stairs of number four privet drive after the long car ride from Kings Cross preparing himself for another long summer in his would be prison. He had spent the car ride deep in thought trying to figure out exactly how he felt after the events at the end of his fifth year. He was still upset over the loss of his godfather Sirius Black but his friend Luna Lovegood's unique way of looking at things had provided him with a unique perspective which helped to calm him considerably.

While the death was still fresh in his mind he found he was no longer as upset as he had been. He still felt a lingering sadness and responsibility about what had happened but he now realized it wasn't entirely his fault. The blame for what happened rested on many shoulders, not his alone. He realized most of his remaining anger was from being kept in the dark and manipulated. Currently he was living another example of this, once again being forced back to his 'loving' relatives and not being allowed any say in the matter.

He entered the smallest bedroom setting his trunk on his bed and his owl's cage on the dresser. After filling Hedwig's water dish and another small bowl with owl treats he opened the window so she could come and go as she pleased. She wasn't with him at the moment because he had released her at Kings Cross to spare her having to ride in the trunk of his uncle's car.

Having sorted out his owl he moved to the bed where his trunk sat to unpack a few items he would need over the summer. Lifting the lid he was surprised to find a small present with a note attached. Sitting at his desk he opened the note.

_Dear Harry,_

_Surprise! I couldn't be any happier now knowing I was able to surprise the great Harry Potter defeater of evil and savior of young redheads everywhere! Just kidding Harry. _

_This isn't much, just something I came across during the last Hogsmeade weekend. I was going to save it for your birthday but thought it might cheer you up a little after the last few weeks. Don't worry I'm not gonna pull a Hermione and demand you talk, just know that I'm here if you need anything or just want to chat._

_Try not to let the muggles get you down. Hopefully we can get you out of there soon. If they give you any trouble let me know and I'll come over and straighten them out for you! I'm glad we were able to become friends over the last year, after everything that happened my first year I don't have too many and I consider you one of my very best. _

_Please stay safe and remember what I said, if you need anything I'm here for you._

_With Love,_

_Ginny_

Harry smiled as he read the letter. He had become a lot closer to the youngest Weasley over the last year. Considering her to be one of is best friends too he resolved to write her often over the summer.

Turning his attention to the gift he removed the wrapping from the small box opening it revealing a small figurine of a grim. Exact to the last detail he could actually feel the grim's fur as he softly stroked the coat of the small replica of his godfather's animagus form.

"Padfoot." he said softly.

As he held the small statue it seemed to come to life and began stretching as if waking from a long nap. Looking around it finally seemed to notice Harry and began barking and jumping around in his hand excitedly. Emotions swelled within Harry, his face a mixture of surprise, happiness and pain. Tears trailed down his cheeks while he chuckled at the antics of the small dog which reminded him so much of his godfather during the trip to Kings Cross from Grimauld Place the previous year.

Before he realized what was happening the small dog leapt from his grasp to the floor of his room and sat still. A look of concentration appeared on the dogs face and it began to grow. Harry jumped up in shock stepping back from the rapidly growing dog in front of him. What had only a few moments before been a small figurine of a grim measuring a mere two inches tall was now over a foot tall and quickly growing larger.

After only a few seconds though it seemed a lot longer Harry found himself looking at a life size replica of Padfoot. The dog looked back tilting his head slightly as if trying to figure something out before it seemed to grin and jumped on Harry tackling him to the floor and licking his face. Harry laughed as the dog jumped around the room barking and playing with Harry who was now carefree and happy for the first time in a long while.

"Boy! What is that racket!" bellowed Harry's uncle Vernon as the door was thrown open revealing his angry red face.

Scanning the room, Vernon's face changed from shades of red to purple as he became even angrier at the sight of a large dog in his house.

"That animal will not be staying here!"

The dog in question bared its teeth, a low growl escaping its throat as Vernon entered the room to remove the aforementioned 'animal'. Harry's uncle froze. Fear overtook the rage he had been experiencing as the large dog stood up. Harry stood up from the floor and placed a calming hand around the dog's neck as he addressed his uncle.

"Actually he will be staying with me."

Vernon was clearly confused his need to intimidate and control Harry being overcome by his fear of the beast in front of him.

"You… You keep that thing away from me." He stuttered pointing at Harry's new pet as he backed out of the room.

"I won't let him hurt any of you and he'll stay out of the way with me. As long as you don't bother us, we won't bother you." Harry said with a new sense of confidence that he was quickly gaining being with his new companion.

"Fine." His uncle grunted as he quickly retreated down the stairs to the living room.

Harry closed the door and laughed at the amused expression on the dogs face.

"Well I should probably give you a name shouldn't I?"

The dog sat down and craned its neck back to reveal a charm hanging from a thin cord around its neck. Reaching down Harry took hold of the charm and was again shocked. Sinking to his knees tears began to flow again as he read the word inscribed upon the small piece of metal 'Padfoot'.

Padfoot walked to Harry who grabbed the dog around his neck hugging him tightly and crying softly.

"I'm so sorry Sirius. I love you so much. I miss you."

After a few minutes Harry's crying died down and Padfoot pulled away. With a big lick that seemed to cover Harry's entire face Padfoot returned to his earlier antics until Harry was once again laughing out loud and playing with him.

A long while later Harry was sitting beside the bed petting Padfoot. He found himself grinning thinking about Ginny and the gift she had given him. Deciding to write her he moved to his desk and took out some parchment and a quill.

_Ginny,_

_Thank you. I don't know what else to say and whatever it is could never be enough so thank you. You're right by the way I was surprised to find the gift. Yes, feel free to gloat the 'savior of young redheads' was surprised by none other than very one who won him the title in the first place. At first I didn't know what to think when I opened the gift I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. But as he started to move and change I found the first true happiness I have felt since I lost Sirius so thank you again._

_Thanks for your kind words as well. By the way, 'Anything' Ginny? That's kind of open ended wouldn't you say? That's a dangerous thing to say to the son, godson and friend of the marauders don't you think? Picture me with an evil grin right now. In all seriousness thank you that really means a lot to me._

_I consider you one of my very best friends also and plan on writing to you lots this summer that is if you want me too anyway. I know on the train you said you're going out with Dean now so I'll understand and it's ok if you don't want me to._

_Thanks again for the wonderful gift and I hope to hear from you soon,_

_Harry_

As he finished the letter he found Padfoot looking over his shoulder. Reaching forward with his paw he knocked over the inkwell then stepped back from the desk. The look of concentration he had worn earlier once again appeared on his face. As Harry watched the dog shrunk to its original size and began barking at Harry.

Picking up the dog Harry set him on his desk and watched as he walked through the spilled ink then onto the bottom of the letter Harry had just written Ginny leaving a trail of tiny dog paw prints across the paper just below his signature.

Laughing Harry picked up the quill and scribbled a quick note on the bottom of the letter before placing it in an envelope to send to Ginny.

After cleaning the ink from the desk and Padfoot's feet he placed the small dog back on the floor where he quickly returned to his larger size. Harry absently noted that the transformation was much quicker this time and didn't seem to require as much concentration by Padfoot. Shrugging internally to himself he returned to playing with his new friend while waiting for Hedwig's return so he could send Ginny his thank you.

* * *

Ginny was bored. She had arrived home from her fourth year at Hogwarts earlier in the afternoon and already she could find nothing to do but her homework which she was loath to start this early in the summer and daydream about a certain raven haired green eyed Gryffindor. 

She found herself sitting at her desk in her room alternating between her daydreams of Harry and berating herself for falling back into her old habit of pining for The Boy Who Lived. Ginny had dated other guys in an effort to get over her crush and while she had grown and become more confident all that had really happened was that she discovered other guys were not Harry. She became good friends with Harry over the last year and was very proud of the fact that she could now talk to him without blushing like the little girl she used to be. The more she thought about him the more she came to realize the simple truth. Her crush was long gone. Ginny Weasley was in love with Harry Potter.

As thoughts of Harry continued to plague her mind she heard a tapping on her window and looked up to see Hedwig sitting on her window sill. Leaping from her seat she opened the window and Hedwig flew in. After removing the letter from her leg Ginny fetched a bowl of water and some owl treats before sitting down to read the letter.

She grinned practically bouncing in her seat as she read her letter from Harry. Her excitement briefly changed to confusion as he mentioned the statue she had given him moved and changed, she had no idea the statue was magical she only knew it looked like Sirius animagus form. She would have to ask him more about that.

Ginny laughed at the implications of his next paragraph knowing that she would in fact do 'anything' he wanted but that he was too much of a gentleman to ever take advantage of her in the way he was joking about, "Unfortunately." she muttered to herself. She was thrilled he considered her one of his best friends and noted she would have to let him know she wasn't really dating Dean in her return letter.

She sat up straighter and gasped out loud as she noticed the tiny dog tracks going across the letter and the hastily scribbled note Harry had obviously added after the fact.

_Padfoot says hi!_

Reading the letter several more times she quickly grabbed a quill and wrote a reply.

_

* * *

Harry, _

_Thanks for your letter and I would love to write to you this summer. By the way I'm not really dating anyone right now. I only made the comment about Dean to mess with Ron. He still seems to think I'm 6 years old or something. It's actually funny you'd never know they were ever friends the way he whined about Dean the whole way home until mum finally told him it was none of his business and to keep his nose out of it. I should probably tell him the truth but not yet, I think I'll let him stew for awhile!_

_I'm glad you like your gift. I was surprised to hear it moves. It never moved when I saw it in the shop and the owner didn't say anything about it. What does it do and what did you mean when you mentioned it changing? I'll also say I was shocked when I saw your note at the bottom, the little dog tracks are cute though!_

_As far as your comments about 'anything', Marauders don't scare me so I'll just let your imagination run wild for now. Evil grin back at you!_

_There's not much else going on right now so I guess I'll end my note here. Write soon OK? I have a feeling your letters are about the only thing I'll have to look forward too this summer._

_With Love, _

_Ginny_

_

* * *

Ginny, _

_I laughed for the longest time when I read what you wrote about Ron and Dean. I can hear Ron going on about him in my mind and the things he's saying are hilarious! Don't worry about Ron to much. You're definitely not a 6 year old girl anymore. I would have thought he would understand that after the ministry thing, just know that I'm on your side in this one. We should really try to get him and Hermione together. We know they both like each other and maybe if they were dating Ron would back off of you and they would spare Gryffindor tower all the fighting this year. Probably not but I can dream!_

_You asked about the statue, I was holding it in my hand when it sort of woke up. After a few minutes he jumped from my hand onto the floor and started growing bigger. It only took a few seconds but it looks and acts just like Sirius did when he was in his dog form. I was trying to figure out a name for him when I noticed a collar, well more of a necklace really, with a charm that says 'Padfoot' on it. Weird huh? I assumed at the time you knew about all that. I wonder now if it's something Sirius made. I don't know Gin maybe you can help me figure out this mystery but one thing I do know is that it's definitely the best present I've ever received. Thanks again._

_I'm shocked at you Ginny Weasley you should be very frightened of Marauders! I guess growing up with the twins has hardened you against pranksters. My imagination is running wild right now and evil grins will get you everywhere._

_As you can probably guess I'm bored too as there's never anything going on here. Write soon Gin._

_Yours truly,_

_Harry_

_

* * *

Harry, _

_Thanks for agreeing with me on the Ron issue. I over heard him muttering something about Dean and wheezes under his breath earlier and am a bit worried that he might be planning to do something to Dean. I'd hate to see him get pranked as he's innocent, then again it might be fun to let it go to its conclusion and see what happens. Picture me smirking right now._

_I definitely agree on getting Ron and Hermione together though I wouldn't get your hopes up that it will stop them from arguing. Do you have any ideas on how we might go about this?_

_I'll be glad to try and help you figure out the mystery of the statue. I agree with your guess that Sirius might have made it. Too many things coincide with his animagus form for it to be coincidence not to mention his name on the necklace. Maybe when we get back to school we can go to the store in Hogsmede and ask the owner if he knows anymore about it._

_Yes I suppose growing up with the twins will do that to you. You should know not every prank the twins have been given credit for were pulled by them. Grin. I'm glad you're using your imagination Harry. I can't wait to find out what you come up with! Another evil grin since you said they'll get me everywhere!_

_Mum's calling for dinner so I'll let you go for now. Write soon._

_Love,_

_Ginny_

_

* * *

Harry, _

_How are you? I hope your relatives aren't treating you badly for a change. I'm getting ready to leave for a vacation in Australia with my parents soon so will not be able to write to you this summer._

_I hope you're dealing with your loss and not keeping your feelings bottled up like I know you do. It was not your fault Harry! I'm sorry I won't be around to talk this summer but you should talk to someone. How about Remus? I'd say Ron but I'm not so sure he'd be a very good person to talk to about something like that. He does tend to be less than tactful at times._

_Please take care of yourself Harry and I look forward to seeing you when I get back._

_With Love,_

_Hermione_

_

* * *

Harry, _

_Hope the muggles are treating you ok. What are we going to do about Dean mate? Can you believe he's dating Ginny? Doesn't he know she's too young? Mum told me to leave it alone but I have to protect Ginny. What do you think I should do? Should I write him a letter explaining how things are or maybe go over to his house and straighten him out? Let me know. Looks like Hermione is going to Australia. At least she's not going to Bulgaria to see that wanker Krum. She really needs to stay away from that guy I don't trust him. Well write back soon and let me know ok._

_Ron_

_

* * *

Ron, _

_Don't worry, the muggles are fine. As far as Ginny is concerned I wouldn't worry about it. She's grown up and can make her own decisions as well as take care of herself. I'd take your mum's advice and stay out of it. You're only going to make Ginny mad if you press it and you know you'll pay if you do that._

_What happened to Krum being your hero? I don't think Hermione likes him as more than a friend anyway. As far as I know she hasn't even heard from him in almost a year._

_Tell everyone I said hi,_

_Harry_

_

* * *

Gin, _

_Ron wrote me about Dean. You're right he seems a little upset about it. I told him you were grown up and could make your own decisions. A bit over protective isn't he? As funny as it might be to see him prank Dean you probably should tell Ron before that happens but I'll back you either way._

_Hermione wrote me also, her letters in the trash right now. Same old Hermione assuming she knows how I feel and trying to force me to talk about it. Luckily she's leaving for Australia for most of the summer so I don't have to deal with it. Ron mentioned Hermione in his letter saying he was glad she wasn't going to Bulgaria to see Krum. I told him they hadn't even written each other in a year as far as I know. I wish he'd get over that. I don't have any ideas right now but I'm sure between the two of us we can come up with something good to help them get together._

_That's a good idea about going to Hogsmede to try to find answers we'll have to do that. That is of course if you would consent to being seen in Hogsmede with me. Please? I'll buy you a butter beer. By the way sorry about the slobber on this letter, Padfoot decided he wanted to play while I was writing this. While I'm thinking about it would you mind keeping Padfoot between you and me for now? I'm not sure I'm ready to tell anyone about him yet. Thanks Gin._

_So the twins are leaving a legacy behind in the form of Ginny Weasley. Who would guess? Should you require or desire an accomplice in the future I would be more than happy to assist you. _

_My imagination is my own and for now will stay that way. You will have to use your own imagination to imagine what I am imagining when I think of 'anything'. I'm not sure if that even makes sense but if you can figure it out imagine me grinning at you._

_Thank you for writing me this summer I find myself looking forward to each of your letters._

_With Love,_

_Harry_

_

* * *

Harry, _

_Well I broke down and told Ron the truth about Dean. He wasn't very happy to find out I'd lied about it but I could tell he was really relieved. O' well, it was fun while it lasted. At least now maybe he'll get off my back about it._

_I know Hermione can be a bit overbearing and pushy sometimes but don't forget that's just her way and she only does it because she cares about you. That said I would have thrown her letter away too. Don't worry too much about a plan for Ron and Hermione we'll think of something when we see each other again._

_Have I told you how much I love Hedwig? Ron saw her coming with your last letter and threw a fit when she landed on my shoulder and gave me the letter. He insisted it had to be a mistake and tried to take it from me. Hedwig seemed pretty upset with his comments and nearly pecked him to death until he finally ran from the room. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!_

_I would love to go to Hogsmede with you and you don't have to buy me a butter beer though I would appreciate one._

_I would also gladly accept you as my partner in crime. Perhaps we could start our own chapter of the Marauders. The twins have come up with some simply ingenious new pranks that I'm sure they would gladly donate to our cause. We should talk to Moony. I bet he would also help._

_I was able to figure out what you meant and I can only hope my imagination is imagining what your imagination imagined. If this is the case imagine me grinning happily._

_Thank you for writing me as well, it's been the best part of my summer._

_Love,_

_Ginny_

_PS. I found the slobber quite amusing. Don't worry I won't tell anyone about him. Give Padfoot a hug for me._

_

* * *

Mr. Potter, _

_The last will and testament of Mr. Sirius Black has recently been released and may now be executed. You are listed as the primary beneficiary along with a Mr. Remus Lupin. Please come to Gringotts in Diagon Alley at your earliest convenience to accept your inheritance at his bequest._

_Condolences,_

_Sr. Solicitor Garnod_

_Gringotts, London Branch_

_

* * *

Harry, _

_It has just come to my attention that against my wishes Gringotts has contacted you about the will of Sirius Black. I am sorry but at this time you will be unable to go to Diagon Alley for a reading. It is simply not worth the risk._

_I also ask that you refrain from leaving your relatives house. For the wards to protect you to their fullest extent you need to be inside. I know you like to spend time in the park down the street but I must insist that you discontinue this practice and remain in doors._

_Unfortunately you will also be unable to leave Privet Drive before the end of the summer. I will arrange for someone from the Order to obtain your school supplies before term starts and arrange for a guard to pick you up and deliver you to the Hogwarts Express at Kings Cross Station on September 1st._

_Best Regards,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

* * *

Harry became enraged as he read the letter from Dumbledore. It seemed the old man hadn't learned anything from the previous year and was planning to continue keeping him in the dark. Harry was sick of people controlling his life without even giving him the simple courtesy of telling him what's going on. This was exactly the type of behavior that led to the death of his godfather. He had no doubt's that Dumbledore had reasons for all the demands in his letter and he also knew that the reasons were not given because Harry would not like and probably disagree with them. Here it was only a week into the summer and already he was being told what he could and couldn't do while being locked away in his prison at his relative's house. 

He'd had enough. Dumbledore had finally pushed him too far and he wasn't going to put up with it any longer. Petting the dog sitting faithfully beside him he began to formulate a plan.

"I think it's time to start making my own decisions Padfoot. What do you think?"

Padfoot barked loudly seemingly in approval.

With Padfoot's reassurance Harry picked up his quill and began a letter to the one person he was sure would be willing to help him.

_

* * *

Gin, _

_I'm sorry for the tone of this letter but I've just received a letter from Gringotts about Sirius will and another from Dumbledore which has me really angry. He just doesn't seem to get it and I see him making the same mistakes he made last year. We both know how that turned out._

_I know we've had fun with it but in all seriousness Gin, I need to know if you truly meant what you said in your first letter. Would you really do anything to help me? I hate to ask but I'm going to make some changes in my life and I'd rather not do it alone. It's ok if you can't help me, I'll understand and it won't change anything._

_Love,_

_Harry_

_

* * *

Harry, _

_Of course I meant it and of course I'll help you. What do you need?_

_Love,_

_Ginny_

_

* * *

Gin, _

_The first thing I need to do is go to Diagon Alley and Gringotts. Is there any way you could sneak out in the next few days and meet me there?_

_Love,_

_Harry_

_

* * *

Harry, _

_Any day is fine Harry. Ron is working at the twins shop and mum is always gone on Order business so I'm alone almost every day. Where do you want to meet?_

_Love,_

_Ginny_

_

* * *

Gin, _

_There's a muggle diner in London a few doors down from the Leaky Cauldron, can you meet me there at nine tomorrow morning? Assuming you floo to the Leaky Cauldron, try not to let anyone see you there and be sure to bring your wand. Thanks for this and for everything this summer Gin. You're the best. I can't wait to see you tomorrow._

_Love,_

_Harry_

_

* * *

Harry, _

_I'll be there. I can't wait to see you too._

_Love,_

_Ginny_


	2. Diagon Alley

**Chapter 2 – Diagon Alley**

Harry woke early the next morning. He had a lot to do today and needed to get an early start if he wanted to be on time to meet Ginny.

After a quick shower and dressing in his least ragged hand me downs, he rummaged through his trunk removing his money pouch, an old cloak with a hood and his father's invisibility cloak. Stuffing his wand in his pocket he put the old cloak on finding it to be several sizes to small.

"Oh well." he sighed, "It'll just have to do for now."

As Harry started to don his invisibility cloak Padfoot began barking at him. He watched the dog shrink and run up to him continuing to bark.

"Do you want to go with me?" chuckled Harry who received another sharp bark for an answer.

"Ok, but you'll need to keep quiet so we don't get caught sneaking out." Harry said as he picked up the now tiny dog and placed him in his shirt pocket.

After several seconds of wiggling around, Padfoot finally settled down prepared for the trip ahead. Harry laughed as the dogs movements tickled him and returned to putting on his invisibility cloak.

Being especially careful to stay quiet Harry snuck out the back door of his relative's house, across the back yard and into the alley beginning today's adventure. Once he was several blocks away he picked up the pace no longer having to worry as much about being quite.

When he felt he was far enough away from Privet Drive he scanned the area making sure no one could see him and removed his invisibility cloak. After carefully folding it and storing it in one of the pockets of his too small cloak he lifted his hood and raised his wand in the air.

With a loud bang a violently purple bus appeared in front of him. The door opened and the familiar face of Stan Shunpike looked out.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus. Emergency transport for stranded witches and wizards." stated Stan.

Waving off his speech Harry handed Stan two galleons and said "Diagon Alley please."

"No problem governor. You're the only passenger right now so we'll be there in about 15 minutes. You can take any bed you like."

"Thanks Stan." Harry said as he moved to the first bed.

After a very scary 15 minutes the bus screeched to a halt in front of the Leaky cauldron and Harry stepped off glad the ride was over. Taking a minute to compose himself he checked his watch and noted he had about 45 minutes before he needed to meet Ginny.

Harry quickly passed through the Leaky Cauldron into the back alley where he tapped the bricks with his wand opening the archway to Diagon Alley. The crowd was light this early in the morning, the shops having just opened and he was able to quickly make his way to his first destination of the day Madam Maulkin's Robes for all Occasions.

Entering the shop he was happy to find he was the only customer.

"Good morning sir. What can I help you with today?" greeted Madam Maulkin.

"I need two concealment robes please." said Harry.

"I'm sorry sir but those are only available for purchase by licensed Aurors."

Harry sighed. He had prayed he wouldn't have to do this but hopefully he could convince her to sell them to him. Removing his hood he brushed aside his hair to reveal the lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

"Harry Potter!" exclaimed madam Maulkin.

"Shhhh." Harry said raising his hands and looking around. "Please don't let anyone know I'm here."

Seeing the apologetic look on her face he continued. "Is there any way you could sell me the robes? It really is important that I have them."

After a brief internal debate the old woman smiled. "I suppose as long as we keep this between us. I can definitely understand why you want them."

After retrieving two long black cloaks from the back of the shop she presented them to Harry. "They're equipped with auto sizing, cleaning and temperature charms. When the hood is up your face will be obscured by shadows and the sound of your voice altered. There is also a weak notice-me-not charm to help you blend into crowds. The cloaks are 100 galleons each."

"These are perfect! I don't have enough money with me right now but I am planning on coming back later today to purchase a complete wardrobe. Could I pay for them then?"

"That would be fine dear. Do be careful and keep yourself safe. I'll see you later." she said smiling all the while.

Harry discarded his old cloak and put on the new one. After stowing his money pouch, invisibility cloak and the other concealment cloak he raised his hood and ventured back into Diagon Alley to make his way back to muggle London and Ginny.

* * *

Ginny watched the clock in anticipation of seeing Harry. It was still a bit early but she couldn't stand it any longer. Raising the hood on her cloak and making sure her distinctive red hair was out of sight she threw a handful of powder into the fireplace and stepping in the flames yelling out "Diagon Alley!" 

Disappearing in a roar of green flame she felt the familiar spinning sensation of floo travel as various fire places whizzed by before being unceremoniously thrown from the fire place at her destination.

Hands grasped Ginny as she fell and stood her upright. She looked up intent on thanking her savior but gasped and stepped back at the sight of the man before her. He stood taller than her by several inches wearing a long black cloak that seemed to flow around him. His hood was raised his face bathed in shadow. All in all he looked very menacing and dangerous.

She watched frozen in place as he raised a finger to his faced and hissed softly telling her to be quite. He then reached inside his cloak withdrawing his hand after a few moments with a very small dog sitting on his palm wagging its tail.

All her worries melted away and she smiled happily as she realized it was Harry who had caught her.

"Still saving young redheads I see." she said mischievously.

An unfamiliar sounding chuckle escaped from the shadows within Harry's hood as he replaced the dog within his robes. Taking her hand he led her to the door leading to muggle London before removing his robes and quickly ducking out the door. Following his lead she shrugged off her own robes and followed him out to the busy street.

"Hey Gin." Harry said pulling her into a warm hug.

"Harry it's great to see you." she replied.

The hug was over far too quick for either teenager and Harry took her hand in his as they walked towards the diner they had planned to meet at.

Sitting in a booth in the far corner of the restaurant they ordered breakfast before beginning their conversation.

"I've missed you Harry."

"I've missed you too Gin. I know it's only been a week since we left school but seems like a lot longer."

"I must say I'm a bit disappointed in your imagination Harry. Going to Diagon Alley wasn't exactly what I thought you were thinking of when you were imagining 'anything'." Ginny said with a wicked grin.

Harry laughed and blushed slightly. "It's not. But you know how things go with me. I can never seem to get a break."

Ginny smiled weakly in understanding and feeling bold reached across the table taking his hands in hers.

"It'll be ok. So what's the plan Harry?"

"First I need to go to Gringotts to hear Sirius will." he said softly.

Ginny squeezed his hands and waited patiently for him to continue.

Smiling at her show of support Harry went on. "Then we need to do some shopping. I plan on leaving Privet Drive in the next few days and I'll need to get several things to make that happen."

Ginny wasn't entirely shocked. She figured he had something along those lines in mind.

"Where are you going to go?" she asked wondering if he wanted her to go with him and hoping at the very least she would be able to stay in touch with him. She felt their relationship growing and wasn't about to give him up now.

"Well I'm not entirely sure. I was thinking about getting one of those trunks with all the compartments to live in and having you keep it."

Ginny let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "That could work. We'd need to find a way to stop owls from finding you not to mention tracking charms. It would help if we had a way to do magic without getting expelled."

"That's what I was thinking as well and why I wanted to be sure you brought your wand today. I think I know where we can get the ministry charms removed. After Gringotts we'll get that taken care of then go shopping for the other things we'll need. I need to be back at Privet Drive before dinner tonight to make an appearance for the watchers from the Order so they don't know anything's up. I also want to send a letter to Dumbledore outlining my intentions before I disappear."

Their breakfast arrived and the pair continued to plan the day ahead as they ate their meal. Once they were done Harry paid for their food and slipped Ginny one of the concealment cloaks he had purchased earlier that morning. Slipping them on as they entered the Leaky Cauldron they made their way back in to Diagon Alley and Gringotts.

Approaching an available window Harry was surprised when the goblin spoke first.

"Ah, Mr. Potter we've been expecting you. Griphook! Please show Mr. Potter and his guest to a private conference room and notify Garnod he has arrived."

"Follow me please." Griphook said leading them down a long hall behind the teller windows.

Harry and Ginny lowered their hoods as they entered a large conference room. After directing them to seats at the large table which dominated the room Griphook left to notify Sr. Solicitor Garnod of Harrys presence.

A few minutes later an ancient goblin entered the room holding a stack of parchments.

"Mr. Potter I'm Solicitor Garnod it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm glad you were able to make it in this quickly. Mr. Dumbledore indicated you would be unable to meet with us any time soon."

Ginny felt Harry's anger rise and grabbed his hand under the table giving it a quick squeeze. He turned and gave her a smile that melted her heart before returning his attention to Garnod.

"Yes, well he seems to take great pride in trying to control me these days. This is Ginny Weasley by the way my dearest and most trusted friend." Harry gave her hand a squeeze as he introduced her, the emotion in his voice causing her heart to thump and a smile to appear on her face.

"A pleasure Ms. Weasley, now to the matter at hand."

Picking up the top parchment Garnod began to read.

_Last Will and Testament_

_I Sirius Black being of sound mind and body and the sole living heir to the Black Estate do herby bequeath the following:_

_To Remus Lupin: As soon as you stop laughing about the above statement we'll get to it. That's better. Now, Remus thanks for being my friend all these years. I'm sorry I can't be there for the full moon any longer but I can still help by buying you some wolfs bane potion. To Remus I leave two million galleons and the deed to number 12 Grimmauld Place as well as its contents. I would also ask you to take over my guardianship of Harry if he is willing. Please make sure to put his needs above the Orders and Dumbledore's. I feel like Albus has lost sight of many things as of late and I do not want Harry to have to pay the price for his mistakes and vision of the 'greater good' as he always says. Take care of yourself Remus._

_To Harry Potter: Harry I'd like to say I'm sorry for all the years I was unable to be there for you. I let my anger get the best of me the night I went after Peter and it cost me more than I ever imagined it could have. It cost me time with you. Don't mourn my passing Harry instead remember the happy times we were able to share. In case I never got around to telling you I just want you to know how proud I am of you and how much I love you. You've grown into a fine young man and I have no doubts your parents are proud of the man you've become. As much as I hate leaving you I can only hope I went out with a bang. As long as I was fighting the good fight at the time then know that I'm happy. I'll be sure and give your dad a hug and mum a kiss for you. Now, enough of this garbage lets get to the good stuff! To Harry Potter I leave the bulk of my estate which consists of my personal vault and the Black Family vault. At the time of this writing the total was somewhere around 22 million galleons not to mention all the artifacts and books. You had better believe I'll be watching you and I'll be highly upset if you don't do your best to blow as many of those galleons as possible. I've seen the Potter Family vault and know you don't need this but it warms my heart to be able to give it to you so please enjoy it for me. You also need to visit the Black Family Vault soon. Inside you'll find a letter I wrote to you containing a couple of things I think you need to know about. Be wary around some of the items in there though. My family was a bunch of dark wizards and many of the items in the vault are extremely dangerous. Stay safe and take care of yourself Harry. I don't want to see you up here for a very long time kiddo._

Ginny stood and held Harry closely as he cried. After several minutes he pulled back and thanked her earning a smile in return.

Garnod handed a quill to Harry and began passing him papers to sign.

"These are to accept Mr. Black's personal vault. These are for the Black Family vault. Did you wish to have Mr. Lupin become your guardian?"

Harry grinned as he answered. "Yes if he's willing."

"He hasn't come in yet but you will need to sign here to indicate your acceptance of him as your guardian."

After signing Harry asked a question. "Out of curiosity, who would be my magical guardian if I didn't want Remus?"

"In that case your magical guardianship would fall to the current Headmaster of the school you attend, in your case Albus Dumbledore."

Harry began to get angry again but was calmed slightly when he heard a low growl coming from Ginny.

"Well that's obviously one of the reasons he didn't want me to come here. Sirius mentioned a Potter Family vault. Why have I never heard about it before?"

The old goblin looked shocked at this question. "You should have been notified by your trustee of the vaults existence and its contents within a year of your eleventh birthday. Are you telling me you are unaware of its existence?"

Harry was clearly fuming now. "That's correct. This is the first I've heard of it. Let me take a wild guess, my trustee is Albus Dumbledore."

"That's correct Mr. Potter. As the trustee he controls access to your family vault and is notified of all transactions you make with Gringotts." Garnod tapped his finger on his chin thinking for a minute before a scary grin made its way onto his face. "If you would like I believe I can cancel the trusteeship and transfer control back to you."

"That would be great! How would that work exactly?"

"As I mentioned one of the requirements of the trustee is to notify you of your holdings within a year of your eleventh birthday. This is done so that you can learn to manage your assets and be prepared to handle your family business by the time you reach the age of majority and claim your inheritance. By not notifying you of your holdings Mr. Dumbledore is in breach of the trustee agreement he entered into upon the death of Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Therefore we can now legally remove his access to your accounts and transfer control to you."

"Perfect, let's do it." said Harry grinning wildly.

"Griphook!" yelled Garnod shortly followed by the small goblin entering the room.

"Yes sir?"

"I'll need several documents for the Potter/Black account. Please fetch Dissolution of Trusteeship forms, the appropriate Acceptance of Inheritance forms and a Notification of Breach of the Trustee Agreement."

Bowing Griphook left the office to return a short time later with the necessary documents. Harry's hand was beginning to ache after another round of signing.

"One final item Mr. Potter, the Notification of Breach will need to be sent to notify Mr. Dumbledore of his removal as trustee within the next 30 days. We can send this whenever you would like as long as we stay within the 30 day timeframe."

Harry thought for a few moments before responding. "I have a couple things I would like to do before that goes out, could you hold it for now and I'll send you a letter when I'm ready for that to go out?"

Garnod grinned at Harry. "I would be happy to Mr. Potter. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

"Actually yes, there is one last thing. I'll be making several large purchases today and wanted to know if there was an easy way to carry large amounts of galleons around."

Reaching into a cabinet behind him Garnod removed several money bags of different colors. "We offer these pouches for 20 galleons. Each one will hold up to 10 thousand galleons yet will never weigh more than it would if it held ten. They are also secure. Only those keyed to the bags can remove money from within them. Would you like one?"

"I'll take two actually and I'll need to make a trip to my vault to fill both of them."

"For an additional ten galleon charge I can have them filled in the lobby and save you a trip to your vaults."

"That would be great. I do need to visit my vaults but will be back later to do that." said Harry.

While Garnod was gone Harry removed Padfoot from his pocket and set him on the floor. Padfoot quickly grew to his full size and pounced on Ginny.

Harry was laughing heartily. "He insisted on coming with me, I think he wanted to see you."

Ginny also laughed as she played with the excitable dog. She was amazed how much it reminded her of the real Padfoot. After a few minutes Padfoot shrank and was placed back in Harry's pocket.

Garnod returned with both money bags filled with galleons and keyed Harry and Ginny to both bags. As they were preparing to leave Harry handed Ginny one of the money bags.

"Harry, I can't take this." she said trying to hand it back to him.

"Yes you can, I want you to have it. We have a lot of stuff to buy today and it will be easier if you have your own bag."

"It's too much Harry, I …" Ginny trailed off as Harry interrupted her.

"Do you think I'm trying to buy you?"

"No! Of course not Harry, I know you'd never do anything like that."

"Then what's wrong with me sharing what I have with the people I love?" Ginny's breath hitched and her heart lurched. As she looked into his eyes she could see the truth of his words. "I love you Ginny. You're the most important person in my life and I want to do this for you."

Tears of happiness leaked from her eyes as Harry leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I love you too Harry." The joy was evident in her voice as she sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Come on Gin, let's go shopping!"

Hand in hand they raised their hoods and left Gringotts.

The new couple wandered up the street to a magical furniture store to purchase a magical trunk. As they entered the store they were approached by a small man who seemed wary of their appearance.

"Hello, my names Gregory Smithe. How can I help you today?"

"I'm looking for a new trunk. A friend of mine had one with seven compartments some of which were large rooms." said Harry.

"Ah, you're looking for a sorcerer's trunk. I'm sorry but we don't stock any of those models. They're very expensive so they're generally custom made to the individual's specifications. I'd be happy to help you design and order one if you'd like. Normal turn around time is 6-8 weeks depending on how elaborate your design is." Gregory said looking back and forth between the pair.

Harry's heart fell. He'd thought he had the perfect solution to his hiding and being able to stay close to Ginny. "I can't wait for one to be made but I still need a new trunk, why don't you show me what you do have for multi compartment trunks."

"This is the best model we stock. It has three compartments each magically expanded to twice its normal size. The compartments are accessed by touching one of these three circles on the front of the lid. Only those you key to the trunk will be able to open it. There is a built in shrinking feature activated by tapping the lid twice with your wand. Do the same to enlarge it again. This trunk sells for 700 galleons."

"Excellent." said Harry. "I'll take two, and I want us both keyed in to both trunks."

Ginny started to complain but was stopped by Harry kissing her.

"Alright Harry but kissing me isn't going to work every time you know." Ginny said in a stern tone though the effect was ruined by the large grin on her face.

"Yes it is." said Harry as he laughed and turned to pay for the trunks.

After shrinking and pocketing their new trunks Harry and Ginny left the store heading for Knockturn Alley. Ginny stayed close to Harry as they wandered down the dark street past dark witches, hags and an assortment of other unsavory characters. It didn't take them long to reach their destination Borgan and Burkes.

The store was mercifully empty of shoppers as they stepped up to the counter. A moment later an old man appeared from the back of the store.

"And what can I do for you today sir?" croaked the old man.

Harry felt Ginny stiffen beside him but managed to speak in an authoritative tone. "Before his unfortunate incarceration an associate of mine Lucius Malfoy mentioned you might be able to help me. I have a couple wands I need the ministry tracking charms removed from."

The man looked suspiciously back at the young couple. "That would be illegal. How do I know you are not Aurors trying to set me up?"

"I assure you we are not. What proof would be sufficient for you?"

"You could take veritiserum." he said with a grin.

"No. I will not release control of my mind to the likes of you. Find another way." said Harry with a tone of finality.

Looking disappointed the old man reached under the counter and removed a small stone which he held in his palm. "This is a truth stone. While you hold it you will be unable to speak a lie however you will still be in control of your mind and do not have to answer any questions you do not wish to. As I have told you this while holding the stone you can be assured it's the truth."

Harry took the stone from the man and feeling no ill effects waited for his questions.

"What is your name?"

"Pick another question." answered Harry.

"Very well, are you an Auror?"

"No."

"Do you work for the ministry?"

"No."

"Why do you want the tracking charms removed from your wand?"

"I do not want the ministry interfering in my business."

The man nodded in approval at Harry's answers and repeated the process with Ginny obtaining similar results. After replacing the stone beneath the counter he turned his gaze back to Harry.

"I can help you. My price is 100 galleons per wand."

Harry nodded and handed over his wand. He watched while the old man performed an intricate series of charms on his wand before inspecting it closely and returning it to Harry. He then repeated the same process with Ginny's wand.

"I was also wondering if you had any reading materials I might be interested in. Specifically any ministry restricted materials other than the dark arts." asked Harry.

"A grudge against the ministry eh? I believe I may have a couple items you would be interested in."

Disappearing into the back he returned a few moments later carrying two large books which he set on the counter. Harry grinned internally as he read the titles: 'Ministry Restricted Charms and Procedures' and 'Things the Ministry Doesn't Want You to Know'.

"Perfect I'll take them both. How much do I owe you?"

"Well for both books and two wands I'd say 450 galleons."

Harry handed over the money while Ginny placed the books in her trunk. He then placed another 50 galleons on the counter.

"We were never here." He said in his most menacing voice before turning and leaving the store with Ginny following closely behind.

Both were relieved when they re-emerged into the light atmosphere of Diagon Alley. They decided to go to muggle London for lunch so they could remove their cloaks and shared an enjoyable meal chatting and stealing the occasional kiss. They spent most of their time trying to figure out what to do now that were unable to get a sorcerer's trunk for Harry to live in. After finishing their meal they returned to the wizarding world to finish their shopping.

Harry decided to go to Madam Maulkin's next to get his new wardrobe since he still needed to pay her for the concealment cloaks. They were on their way there when they looked up to see Severus Snape walking their direction. Forgetting they were concealed within the cloaks the ducked into the nearest doorway and waited for him to pass.

Letting out a sigh of relief when Snape didn't notice them they turned around to find themselves in the showroom of a wizarding construction company. Ginny turned to Harry excitedly.

"Harry it never even occurred to me, we can buy you a door."

"A door?" asked a confused Harry.

"Yes. It's a door you can place on any wall that opens to a room. It's a way to add to a house when you don't have any extra space or just don't want to mess with construction. We could put it in my room and hide it somehow, maybe in my closet." said a very excited Ginny.

"That sounds perfect! Are you sure you want me around all summer?"

Ginny pulled Harry into a long passionate kiss finally pulling away and asking a breathless Harry, "Does that answer your question Mr. Potter?"

Grinning widely Harry found a sales person and selected a door that contained an entire furnished apartment and several unfinished rooms. After obtaining a bank draft for 36 thousand galleons they shrunk the door and placed it in Harry's trunk along with the instructions.

They finally made their way to Madam Maulkin's where they selected a whole new wardrobe for Harry. It took a lot of convincing and even more kissing, but with Madam Maulkins help Harry managed to buy a whole new wardrobe for Ginny too. She was worried about how she was going to explain it to her parents until Harry said she could keep everything in his new apartment. It would be a lot easier to explain the odd outfit than it would an entire wardrobe they decided. Before leaving they also purchased a set of dragon hide armor and battle robes for each of them.

Their next stop was at the apothecary next where they purchased a small amount of everything and a complete set of potions lab equipment. After a stop at Florish and Blots where they purchased a large supply of parchment, quills, ink and a large pile of books they spent some time wandering from shop to shop buying anything that caught their eye. Harry was happy that Ginny was finally loosening up and spending some money.

Knowing their day was coming to an end they headed to Gringotts for their final stop. After a roller coaster ride that took them far deeper into the caverns below Gringotts than either of them had ever been before they arrived at the Black Family Vault.

Griphook stood to one side holding a lantern as Harry and Ginny approached the door.

"Simply walk through the door, it will recognize you. As long as you hold her hand she will be allowed to enter." Griphook said answering Harry's unasked question.

Holding each others hands tightly they stepped through the door. Everything went dark and their entire bodies tingled for a few seconds before they emerged in a well lit room.

The vault was an incredible sight to behold. Galleons, sickles and knuts were arranged in massive piles around the vault. There was row upon row of weapons and devices whose functions could only be imagined. Piles of jewels and cases of jewelry adorned another wall and a large selection of books. After topping off their money bags which were considerably lighter than they had been that morning they selected over 200 books which they shrunk and placed in an empty compartment in Harry's trunk.

After a long search they found the letter Sirius had left for Harry. Deciding they were running out of time Harry put the letter with the books before once again shrinking and pocketing his trunk.

They found Griphook waiting patiently for them when they exited the vault. Climbing back into the cart they took a surprisingly short ride to the Potter Family vault. Once again Harry and Ginny held hands and walked through the door.

If the Black Family vault was enormous this one was simply massive. The cavern seemed to go on forever with piles of galleons, sickles and knuts stacked to ceiling as far as the eye could see. Harry guessed there was at least twice as much money here as there was in the Black vault. Similar stashes of weapons, artifacts, jewelry and books were spread about the room.

Ginny began searching through the books, pulling everything that caught her eye from the shelves. Harry wandered over to the jewelry and began looking through the various cases. He was hoping to find a gift for Ginny.

In the second case he looked in Harry found a fine gold chain with a teardrop diamond attached. He immediately thought it would look spectacular on Ginny. According to a label on the case the jewelry within was all muggle. The only charm added was to make the items unbreakable. Making sure Ginny wasn't looking Harry quickly removed the necklace from the case and pocketed it.

As he continued down the row planning on helping Ginny search the many shelves of books he noticed another case labeled 'Portkeys'. The case contained items of all descriptions and sizes but it was a pair of silver bands engraved with runes that caught his eye. Opening the case he read the accompanying description.

_Matched Portkey Ring Set_

_Each ring is a permanent portkey activated by a double tap of a magic wand. When activated the ring will portkey its holder to the location of the other ring. Three taps will portkey the holder to the last destination the portkey was activated. These portkeys are untraceable and undetectable._

'This is perfect.' Harry thought as he removed the rings from the case. Ginny and he had come up with many convoluted schemes as to how they would get together over the next few days while they worked out the details of Harry's disappearance. These would prove invaluable in that regard. Placing one of the rings on his right ring finger he went to find Ginny.

"Gin, look what I found." Harry said as he handed her the description of the rings.

Ginny smiled as she read the card. "Harry this is perfect! Much better than everything else we came up with."

Harry agreed as he placed the ring on her right hand.

Taking Harry's hand she began pulling him down the isle towards the large stack of books she had been collecting. "You have to see what I found. If we can figure out how to work the spell I think it will solve the rest of our problems!"

A very excited Ginny picked up a very ancient looking tome from one of the piles and handed it to Harry. He laughed out loud and pulled her into a mind numbing kiss after he read the title, The Fidilius Charm and its Many Uses.

After shrinking and packing the books in Ginny's trunk the pair left Gringotts and Diagon Alley. Ginny promised Harry she would portkey to him the next morning after everyone left for the day and disappeared into the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry made one final purchase for the day buying five cases of butter beer which he shrank and added to his trunk before returning to Surrey on the Knight Bus.

As Harry was drifting off to sleep that night he couldn't help but think that he'd just had the best day of his life. This summer was definitely looking up.


	3. Harry's Disappearance

**Chapter 3 – Harry's Disappearance**

Ginny woke early the next morning and after a quick shower dressed in a pair of jeans and a weird sisters t-shirt Harry had bought her the day before. When she was done dressing she went down stairs for breakfast.

Sitting at the table she began munching on a piece of toast as her mother passed her a glass of juice.

"Good morning Ginny dear. You look nice today is that a new outfit? I don't remember seeing that one before." said Molly.

"Morning mum. My dorm mates gave me cloths for my birthday last year. I only finished unpacking my school trunk yesterday."

"Well you look lovely dear. What do you have planned for today?"

"Not much mum. I'll probably do some studying. Snape gave me a nasty essay on poisons and antidotes. He wants twelve feet." grumbled Ginny though she was smiling internally thinking of the portkey ring she had upstairs.

Ron wandered in still half asleep sitting heavily on the chair next to Ginny.

Ginny greeted her brother who mumbled something unintelligible and began shoving food down his throat as fast as he could. Shaking her head she returned to her toast wishing they would both hurry up and leave.

Ron finished his breakfast and left for Weasley Wizarding Wheezes worried about what the twins would do to him today. Not long after, Molly left for the Orders headquarters telling Ginny she would be home by dinner.

Ginny ran up to her room and placed her shrunken trunk in her pocket. Returning her ring to her finger she tapped it twice with her wand and disappeared.

* * *

When Ginny reappeared in Harry's room she looked curiously at the ring. Far from being the nauseating ride of a typical port key she had simply disappeared and reappeared. There had been barely any feeling behind her naval and she had appeared standing comfortably rather than falling to the ground as was her usual landing. 

Before she had a chance to take in her surroundings she was tackled to the floor by a very excited Padfoot.

"Morning Gin." Harry said as he helped her up and gave her a quick kiss.

"Morning Harry." She held up her hand displaying her ring. "These rings must be very powerful Harry. There much better than a regular port key."

"That's good to hear, I hate traveling by port key."

"Well I don't think you'll mind these." she said.

"I began working on a list of things we need to do." Harry said handing Ginny a piece of parchment.

_1. Learn Fidilius Charm  
__2. Find spell to stop owls  
__3. Find spell to stop tracking charms  
__4. Write letter to Dumbledore  
__5. Write letter to Garnod  
__6. Write letter to Remus  
__7. Write letter to Weasleys?  
__8. Ask Ginny to be my girlfriend_

Ginny squealed as she read the last item and jumped into Harry's arms giving him another kiss.

"I'd love to be your girlfriend Harry."

Harry smiled and pulled her into another long passionate kiss. "Now that the most important item on the list is taken care of," Harry said to a smiling Ginny, "I was thinking I'd concentrate on the Fidilius Charm and you could search for the other spells we'll need. I can write the letters later."

"I understand the letters to Dumbledore, Garnod and Remus but what's the one to my family for?" Ginny asked.

"Well I know your mum will be upset when I leave and probably Ron too and since your family's always treated me so nice I just thought it would be the right thing to do. Not that anyone will guess where I am but it should also help throw off the Order when they look for me and you know they will regardless of what I tell Dumbledore."

"I see. That makes sense."

Ginny expanded her trunk and began her search for the spells they would need while Harry opened the book on the Fidilius Charm.

_The Fidilius Charm and its Many Uses_

_Contents  
__Forward...2  
__Understanding the Charm...3  
__Hiding Small Items...5  
__2 Dimensional Items...22  
__3 Dimensional Items...47  
__3 Dimensional Spaces...70  
__Large areas...93  
__Integrating with Existing Wards...112  
__Adding Wards...115  
__Breaking the Charm...132  
__Commonly Used Runes...152  
__Acknowledgements...236_

Harry grinned as he read the contents. This was going to be a very useful charm. He had no idea it was this diverse. Already he could think of several different uses for the charm. Flipping to the next page he settled down to read.

Ginny dug though her trunk looking for the books they purchased at Borgan and Burkes. She thought the spells they needed were definitely things the ministry wouldn't want anyone to know so those books would be a good place to start.

As she flipped through the books she became excited about the information she was finding. Things like port key creation were listed but what made these books especially useful is that they also explained the ministry procedures used to track the creation and usage of the port keys and how to bypass these procedures. This information was typical for all of the ministry controlled items listed in the books.

After several hours of searching through the books she found two methods for warding against owls. One was a ward the problem being that if you left the warded area owls would be able to find you. The other method was a spell that was cast on an individual. The problem with the spell was that it had to be renewed once a day. Taking notes on the details of the ward and spell she decided it would probably be best to use a combination of both.

Finishing her notes she began watching Harry. He was holding the Fidilius book in his lap occasionally flipping to the back and tracing what appeared to be runes in the air with his wand. The runes would glow softly hanging in the air in front of him. After each rune was drawn Harry would mutter an incantation over the rune and poke it with his wand. The rune would glow brightly for a few seconds and change color. He would then move his wand in a slashing motion across the rune and it would disappear. Occasionally he would pick up a quill and make some notes.

After several minutes of 'Harry watching', Ginny's stomach growled loudly. Harry looked at her with a smirk on his face. "Hungry?"

Ginny blushed slightly embarrassed. "Yes, well it is lunch time. Why don't I go home and get us something to eat."

"That sounds great. I bought some butter beer after you left the Leaky Cauldron yesterday so you don't need to get drinks unless you want something else."

After giving Harry a quick peck on the cheek Ginny disappeared and Harry went back to work learning the Fidilius charm.

Ginny returned a half hour later with a basket of food to find Harry sitting on the floor in front of her trunk. Harry smiled as he saw Ginny.

"Come here a sec Gin, I want to try something."

Ginny put the basket on the desk and moved to sit on the floor next to Harry.

"When I nod to you I want you to concentrate on the phrase 'The middle compartment in Ginny's trunk is hidden.' alright?"

Ginny nodded and watched as Harry began to cast his magic. He started by tracing a rune on the center lock of the trunks lid. As she had seen him do earlier he muttered a spell and poked the rune with his wand. Instead of changing color the rune glowed bright white. He then traced the area around the lock with his wand and poked the rune again. This time instead of removing his wand he held it on the rune which began to glow even more brightly. Looking at Ginny he nodded and she began to concentrate on the phrase like he had asked her to. When Harry pulled his wand away from the rune there was a silver thread of magic attaching the tip to the rune on the trunk. Moving his wand towards Ginny he touched the side of her head attaching the glowing strand to her temple. Tapping the rune with his wand one final time the light faded away.

Harry blinked several times and looked around surprised to find himself sitting on the floor beside Ginny.

"Hey Gin back with the food already?" asked a smiling Harry.

Ginny was slightly confused at this. "Um, yes. Did it work?"

"Did what work?" asked a now confused Harry.

"I'm not sure. You were trying something on the trunks middle lock."

Harry looked at the trunk confused. "What middle lock, there's only two."

Ginny looked at the trunk clearly seeing three locks. After a moment it hit her. Harry had successfully placed the Fidilius Charm on the middle lock and made her the secret keeper. Laughing briefly she tried to tell Harry the pass phrase and found she couldn't say it out loud. Grabbing a piece of parchment she wrote down the phrase and handed it to Harry.

"Here, read this and tell me how many locks are on the trunk."

Harry read the sentence on the slip of parchment and looked at the trunk again with a large grin on his face as he could now see three locks.

"Cool. I couldn't even remember casting the charm until you gave me this."

"That's amazing Harry you figured it out." Ginny said happily.

"Well not completely. That's the simplest form of the charm. It only works on small items. I still need to figure out two dimensional items and find the right runes to do the door. Oh, by the way how many locks does my trunk have?"

"Two." said a curious Ginny. "Why?"

Harry laughed as he handed Ginny a piece of paper. After reading it she looked at Harry's trunk again and joined in the laughter.

They ate lunch slowly chatting about nothing important, enjoying the simple pleasure of each others company. Harry cast the Fidilius Charm on their rings making each of them the secret keeper for their own and sharing the secret with each other as they had done on the middle compartment of the trunks before returning to their research.

By the time Ginny had to go home Harry was able to connect two runes but still had a ways to go before he would be able to hide the door. Ginny had been unable to find anything that would nullify the ministry and Dumbledore's ability to track Harry. They knew the Fidilius Charm would prevent him from being found but that would mean he wouldn't be able to leave the apartment all summer.

After a long goodbye Ginny reluctantly pocketed her trunk and returned home promising to return the next morning.

Dinner with the Dursleys was as enjoyable as always after which Harry returned to his room and continued his study of the Fidilius Charm.

* * *

Ginny returned the next morning bringing breakfast with her. After breakfast they returned to the books though Ginny was getting frustrated. All together they had close to 500 books all shrunk and placed in two trunk compartments and Ginny was having a hard time sorting through them. She hoped they would be able to set up the door soon so they could shelve the books in the study. 

Harry was making excellent progress and by lunch time had been able to hide a picture using four runes and found the runes he would need for the door. They decided to eat lunch in Ginny's room at the Burrow and setup the door afterwards.

They shrank and pocketed their trunks and with three taps of her wand Ginny returned to her room at the Burrow. Harry tapped his ring twice appearing next to her a few seconds later.

"Wow you were right. That didn't feel anything like a port key." said Harry.

"I know. After using it a few times I kind of wonder if it really is a port key or something else. Not that I'm complaining." Ginny said with a grin.

"After everything gets settled we should setup some anti port key wards in the apartment and test them."

"Sounds good. Come on," Ginny said, "let's hurry up and eat lunch so we can setup the door."

After a very quick lunch the young couple ran up the stairs to Ginny's room excited to finally be able to set up the new apartment. The instructions were fairly straight forward explaining how to install the door and modify the view for the windows.

Harry expanded the door and levitated it to a clear spot of wall next to Ginny's bed. While Harry held it in place Ginny cast the charms to fix it to the wall and activate the windows to act as if they were looking out of the burrow in the appropriate directions.

Opening the door they were immediately greeted with a large comfortable living room. To the left of the door there was a fireplace big enough for travel though it was not connected to the floo network. In front of the fireplace was a coffee table surrounded by several squishy chairs and a sofa. A large picture window covered most of one side wall.

The Kitchen was separated from the living room by a tall bar that had several stools along one side. The appliances were a mix of muggle and magical. They would need to stock the kitchen with food soon. The kitchen had another small window above the sink and two doors. One connected to the back wall of the living room next to the bar and the other led to a hallway.

The hallway led from the living room past the kitchen and contained several doors. Opposite the kitchen door was a door leading to the study. The study contained two large desks facing each other in the middle of the room each with a comfortable leather chair. There was a large window opposite the door and a small fire place on the wall behind each desk. The rest of the wall space was covered in bookshelves.

The next door in the hall led to the master bedroom. A king size sleigh bed with a nightstand on each side was placed on the wall to the right as you walked in the door. The wall opposite the door was home to another large window. The wall to the left contained two doors with a table in between. The door to the left led into a huge walk in closet. The one to the right led to the master bathroom. There was another door that connected the closet and the bathroom. The bathroom had a swimming pool sized tub with several taps similar to the prefect's bath at Hogwarts. A large shower with several heads occupied one corner and a small room with a toilet in another. A long counter top with twin sinks and a mirror running the full length ran along another wall.

Opposite the door to the master bedroom was a door that led to another bathroom. This was a much simpler room with much more modest appointments.

At the end of the hall there were three doors one on each side and one at the end. To each side was an empty room measuring twenty foot square with a window opposite the door. The door at the end of the hall led to another empty room but it was much larger measuring 50 feet across and 100 feet long. The door was in the middle and there were six windows, two on each of the long walls and one on each end.

The floors were covered with a thick soft blue carpet throughout except for the kitchen and the empty rooms which had hard wood floors and the bathrooms which were tiled. All in all it was a very nice and very comfortable space.

After wandering through all the rooms, Harry let Padfoot out of his pocket who immediately grew to his full size. "Stay in the apartment Padfoot."

Barking once in the affirmative Padfoot ran off to explore the new rooms. Harry and Ginny returned to Ginny's bedroom to cast the Fidilius Charm on the door.

Ginny sat on her bed to wait for her part as Harry drew his wand and stood in front of the door. He began in the top left corner drawing an intricate rune and charging it with power making it glow bright white. Continuing around the door he repeated this process placing a different rune in each corner. Muttering an incantation he used the tip of his wand to drag a strand of magic between each of the runes outlining the door. He then connected the runes from opposite corners forming an X across the middle of the door. Taking a deep breath he pushed the tip of his wand into the center of the X and began chanting. As he continued to chant a white sheet of magic slowly spread out from the tip of his wand until the entire door was completely covered in white. Nodding at Ginny Harry drew a thread of magic away from the door and connected it to Ginny's temple like he'd done with the trunks the day before. With a final tap of his wand on the center of the door the glowing faded away and the door disappeared from his view.

Once again Harry found himself looking around in confusion. "What happened Gin? I feel a bit winded." he said breathing heavily.

"Just a sec Harry." Ginny scribbled a sentence on a piece of parchment and handed it to Harry.

'_Harry lives in Ginny's room.'_

As Harry read the sentence his memory of performing the charm returned and the door came into view.

"Incindio!" Harry said destroying the parchment in a burst of flame.

Entering the door Harry and Ginny sat down on the couch to let Harry catch his breath. He was surprised when he looked at his watch and discovered it had taken almost three hours to cast the charm.

"Are you ok Harry?" Ginny asked.

"I'm fine, just tired." A large yawn escaped from Harry as he said this.

"Why don't you leave me you're trunk and I'll unpack tonight while you go back to the Dursley's and get some rest."

"You don't have to do that I can come back tomorrow to unpack."

"I don't mind Harry it'll give me something to do after dinner. Give me a minute before you go and I'll get you something to take with you to eat so you don't have to deal with your relatives."

Ginny put a meat pie, some crisps and a couple of the butter beers from Harry's trunk in a basket. After making Harry promise to get a good nights sleep he told her he would come back over tomorrow. She kissed him goodnight and he returned to Private Drive.

Harry sat at his desk eating his dinner thinking about what he had left to do. With the Fidilius Charm in place he could leave at any time. As long as he stayed in his new rooms he would be undetectable. Undetectable he thought. Somehow he felt like he was missing something. When he was in the rooms no one would be able to find him. Not the owls, not the ministry and not Dumbledore. Nothing would be able to find him. All at once it came to him, the Weasleys clock. When Ginny was in his rooms the clock wouldn't know where she was. Ginny was going to unpack tonight! Everything would be ruined if someone saw the clock.

Jumping up from his desk he quickly drew his wand and tapped his ring twice. Appearing in Ginny's bedroom he heard her say "I'm coming Ron!" as she was turning the doorknob to let him in. The apartment door was closed so he dived under the bed.

"What?" said a clearly irritated Ginny.

As Ron stepped into the room Harry carefully shifted around some blankets that were being stored there and moved further under the bed. Near the wall his hand hit something soft. Pulling it closer to take a look he had to shove a fist in his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. It was a doll that was almost falling apart from use. It had black yarn for hair, green buttons for eyes and he could just make out what appeared to be a lightning shaped mark on its forehead.

"Easy Ginny. Mum wants you to set the table for dinner." said Ron.

"Fine, tell her I'll be right down."

Ron left and Ginny walked to her desk to put down the book she was holding.

"Ginny." Harry whispered.

"Harry?" she asked looking around the room.

"I'm under here."

As Ginny knelt down by the bed Harry stuck the doll out waving it as he said "Hi Ginny!"

"Oh my god!" Ginny said clearly embarrassed. Snatching the doll away from Harry and clutching it to her chest she was almost angry, almost. "What the hell are you doing under there?"

Harry was laughing as he crawled out from under the bed. "I thought of something we missed but you were opening the door as I appeared so I hid under there."

"Stop laughing at me." pouted Ginny.

"I'm sorry Gin. Actually I think it's kind of cute. You'll have to tell me about it later. I needed to tell you to stay out of the room tonight."

"Why? I was going to unpack for you after dinner."

"I know and thanks but we forgot about your family's clock."

Ginny understood immediately what he was worried about "Oh no. That never even occurred to me."

"Ginny Weasley!" yelled Molly from down stairs.

"Coming Mum!" Ginny yelled back.

"Why don't you come get me tomorrow after everyone leaves? That was too close with Ron."

"Ok, sweet dreams Harry."

"Night Gin." And after a quick kiss Harry disappeared.

Sitting back down at his desk in the smallest bedroom at Privet Drive Harry finished his dinner. When he was done eating he cleaned up the mess with a wave of his wand. He spent the next hour packing everything he owned in his trunk except for Dudley's hand me down rags which he piled in a corner of the room.

He was nearly ready to leave Private Drive for the rest of the summer and hopefully for good. As long as no one discovered Ginny's part in this there was no reason he couldn't spend a couple more months hiding in the same place next summer as well. After that he would be legally of age in the wizarding world and could live wherever he wanted.

Returning to his desk he picked up a quill and wrote four letters. Hedwig flew to the desk as Harry finished the last letter and held out her leg.

"Not yet girl." Harry said as he petted his beloved owl. "We need to wait until tomorrow when I leave to send these out, Ok?"

Hedwig hooted in understanding and flew back to her cage. Tucking her head under her wing she went to sleep.

Harry decided to follow her lead and after taking off his cloths he turned off the light and climbed into bed. There was a smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep thinking of what the next day would bring.

* * *

Waking early the next morning Harry dressed in the same clothes he had worn the day before. He hadn't thought to bring a change of clothes for this morning so he decided to wait and take a shower when he got to his new home. It wasn't long before Ginny appeared in his room holding the book he had seen her with the night before. 

"Morning Gin."

Harry was greeted with a smile and a kiss. Walking to the desk Ginny opened the book to a page she had marked the night before. The title on the book read 'Ancient Protection Wards'.

"Harry come look at this. I think I found the blood ward Dumbledore is using here."

This got Harry's attention and he quickly joined her at the desk as she began an intricate series of wand movements and spoke an incantation. Her wand tip gave off a faint blue glow and she consulted the book.

"Look at this Harry. According to this the blood wards are at about 60 percent right now." said Ginny.

"I know these wards are probably a good idea Gin but I'm not going to stay here another month just to charge them. Next summer was going to be my last here so they were only going to last another two years tops anyway."

Ginny smiled as he said this. "You don't have to stay and you don't have to give up the protection. Look at this."

Looking at the section Ginny was pointing too Harry began to get angry at Dumbledore again.

_While the participants are residing within the ward it will continually recharge maintaining its full capacity. A minimum time allotment of one month per year is required to maintain the wards full effectiveness in this manner. In the event the ward is weakened due to an attack on the ward or an extended absence of one or both participants it may be manually recharged by the primary protected._

By the time Harry was finished reading the information and procedure explaining how to manually recharge the wards he was fuming. He never needed to spend all the time at Privet Drive he was forced to endure each summer. In fact it took surprisingly little power to do. Even as an eleven year old he could have easily accomplished this task. Being a famous blood alchemist and the castor of the original ward Harry did not doubt that Dumbledore was aware of this fact. Once again information had been kept from him and he felt manipulated.

Ginny wrapped her arms around him and began rubbing his back. "Calm down Harry. We'll deal with him later. You need to be calm to do this, remember the wards are love based." she said smiling warmly at him.

Her touch and smile calmed Harry down and after a short snogging session he was ready to charge the wards. Ginny opened a backpack she was carrying and pulled out Harry's invisibility cloak.

"I figured you'd need this."

Harry smiled and disappeared under the cloak. Sneaking out the back door Harry quietly moved to the far side of the back yard. Sticking the tip of his wand out from under the cloak he said a spell and it began to glow with a soft white light. As he moved forward the light began to brighten before abruptly changing to the faint blue color he had seen on Ginnys wand. He had found the edge of the ward. Moving his wand in a triangle pattern he could feel the magic entering the wards. It only took about 15 minutes before Harry felt the ward stop accepting his magic. Canceling the spell he went back inside.

As soon as he removed his cloak Ginny cast her spell again to check the blood wards which she found were now at 100 percent. Harry burned the letter he had written to Dumbledore and wrote a new one.

"Hedwig." called Harry.

Harry's owl flew to the desk and he attached the letters and a small box to her leg. "Take the letter to Garnod first. Wait for him. He should send another owl with another letter along with you. Have that owl follow one minute behind you. Deliver Dumbledore's letter next but I don't want him to get it until mid afternoon. Then deliver Remus letter and finally the Weasley's. As far as anyone knows you'll be spending the summer there, so stay with Ginny after you're done."

Hedwig hooted and flew out the window. Ginny had shrunk and pocketed Harry's school trunk and Hedwig's cage while Harry was writing the new letter for Dumbledore. After a final look around the room Ginny port keyed back to her room followed shortly by Harry.

"Gin, why don't you take my stuff into the apartment and I'll take a look at the clock while you're in there." Harry said after arriving in Ginny's room.

Still nervous after his near encounter with Ron the day before Harry covered himself in his invisibility cloak and went downstairs to the living room. Looking at the clock he noticed Ginny's spoon was pointing at 'unknown'.

"Bugger." Sighing in resignation he climbed the stairs to Ginny's room and joined her in the apartment. As soon as he entered the living room he was tackled by a large dog that seemed very happy to see him.

"Hey boy." laughed Harry.

"Well I was right Gin. You're pointing at 'unknown' right now. Do you know anything about wizarding clocks?"

"Not really. I know they have to use a bit of your hair to make the spoons work properly but that's about it." said Ginny.

"Well I guess we need to make a trip to Diagon Alley then."

Harry took off his ring and left it in Ginny's room. They both put their concealment cloaks on and a floo ride later found them selves in the Leaky Cauldron. It didn't take them long to get to the bookstore where they were able to find the book they were looking for.

After paying for the book they left the shop and decided to make a trip into muggle London to pick up a few more items Harry wanted for the apartment. It didn't take them long to find the place they were looking for, a large electronics store.

Harry purchased a complete home entertainment system including a large television, DVD player, stereo and loads of movies to go with it. He figured if he was going to be stuck in the apartment most of the summer he might as well have something entertaining to do when he wasn't studying or practicing magic.

Wheeling carts loaded with their purchases into a vacant side alley they shrunk everything and stored the equipment in Ginny's backpack. Harry then touched Ginny's ring and tapped it twice with his wand. A moment later they were back at the Burrow.

"Why don't you work on this while I run into town and buy some food." Ginny offered.

"Alright, will you be ok alone?"

"I'll be fine, I run there all the time for mum." said Ginny.

Grabbing her money pouch she gave Harry a kiss on the cheek and left for town. Harry went into his new study and began work on the clock problem. After an hour of reading he found what he had been looking for.

_It should be noted that combinations of magically expanded spaces and wards can have a variety of different effects on the clock depending on the size of the space and number/combination of wards/spells affecting the space. Most often the clock will be unable to select an appropriate label due to the confusing information it is receiving and default to 'unknown'. Usually adding a notification ward to the affected area keyed to the clocks users and tied to the appropriate clock tag will resolve the issue._

'Excellent.' thought Harry. Wandering to the living room he fetched his trunk and carried it back to the study. Opening the middle compartment he began removing books until he'd found several on warding.

After another long search he discovered that notification wards are used to monitor traffic and bypass concealment charms. Cross referencing the information on the notification ward with the warding section in the Fidilius Charm book he found that the secret keeper would have to cast the ward. He would have to wait for Ginny to get back.

Remembering he had yet to take a shower he selected a clean set of clothes from his trunk and went to try out his new bathroom. Feeling refreshed after a nice long shower Harry found Ginny in the kitchen making lunch.

"I think I found the answer. We just need to add a ward to the door and key that ward to you. Then we connect it to the clock and tell it when the ward is activated to point you to 'Home'. You'll have to do it though since you're the secret keeper."

"Are you sure I'll be able to do all that?" asked a worried Ginny.

"I know you can do it Gin. After lunch we'll figure out the spells and test the clock again."

The ward turned out to be a fairly simple one to cast. Ginny recited the incantation and traced the area around the door with her wand followed by a second incantation. The door was covered in a pale yellow mist which Ginny reached out to touch keying her to the ward. Harry was sure to stay well away from her while she created the ward not wanting to accidentally get keyed into it. She then drew a small circle in the yellow mist. When she pulled away there was a small amount of the mist attached to the tip of her wand. Ginny walked down the stairs to the living room and touched the 'Home' spot with her wand. The yellow mist sank into the tag and disappeared. Returning to her room she tapped the door with her wand to seal the ward and watched as the mist sank into the door.

"Well, I hope that does it." said Ginny.

"Nothing to do but try it."

Ginny went in to the apartment while Harry went downstairs to check the clock.

Success! Her spoon now pointed to 'Home' when she was within the confines of the Fidilius Charm. Running back to the apartment with a smile on his face he gave Ginny a hug and a long kiss letting her know of her success.

As the kiss ended Ginny smiled at her boyfriend. "Welcome home Harry."

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office sucking on a lemon drop while he worked his way through a large stack of documents. He was distracted from his duties when a familiar white owl flew through the window delivering a letter to him. 

"Hello Hedwig. Would you like some water or a treat?"

Without responding Hedwig flew out the window towards her next destination.

Curious what Harry was writing about and hoping he wasn't having more visions of Voldemort he opened the letter.

_Professor Dumbledore,_

_It is with much regret and sadness that I find myself writing this letter. At the end of what I consider a disastrous fifth year we had a long discussion about the errors that were made on both our parts but particularly on yours. You apologized many times asking me for forgiveness and hoping to rebuild the mutual trust we once shared. As the summer began I returned to the Dursley's with the understanding and hope that you were going to be more open and honest, no longer keeping secrets which concern me. I have to say that I am sorely disappointed your ability to do this._

_In the week and a half since leaving Hogwarts I have discovered many things and come to some realizations of my own. You should know I disregarded your letter and went to Gringotts on my own for a reading of Sirius will. I did this because you listed no reasons for me not to only demanding that I stay at the Dursley's. This made me think you were hiding things again. I was correct. I learned that Sirius wanted Remus to be my guardian and that if I did not approve it fell to you. I have approved it. I also learned of the existence of the Potter Family Vault which as trustee you were required to notify me of five years ago. You had NO right to keep these things from me. I have made some changes with Gringotts which you will be notified of any time now._

It was at this moment another owl flew in the window with a letter bearing the Gringotts seal. Setting aside Harry's letter for a moment he opened the note from Gringotts.

_To Mr. Albus Dumbledore_

_This is to notify you that according to Section 8, Subsection C, Paragraph 3 you are in breach of your agreement as the trustee of the Potter assets._

_Your failure to notify the heir primus within one year of his eleventh birthday has placed you in violation of the trustee agreement entered into by you at the behest of the will of James and Lily Potter upon their deaths._

_Effective immediately your assignment as trustee to and all rights and responsibilities connected with the Potter assets have been revoked._

_Sincerely,_

_Sr. Solicitor Garnod_

_Gringotts, London Branch_

A stunned Dumbledore returned to Harry's letter.

_It is for these reasons and others that I am letting you know as a courtesy that I am leaving Privet Drive. I do not take these actions lightly. I know what is at stake and have already made arrangements for my continued safety. I know what you're thinking and what your next comment would be, I haven't spent enough time at Privet Drive to recharge the blood protection. Another thing I have discovered is that as the primary protectant I am able to charge the wards manually which I have done. It took 15 minutes. Being the foremost blood alchemist in the wizarding world and the wizard who created the wards I know you were aware I could do this yet I was never told. I could go on about this but I will not._

_Though I am sure you will not listen I would ask that you and the Order do not look for me, you will not find me. I am hidden, I am safe, that is all you need to know. I will be on the Hogwarts Express September 1st._

_Harry Potter_

Dumbledore sat back in his chair after re-reading the letter several times. He loved the boy like a grandson and tried to do what he felt was best by him but it seemed he had made the same mistakes again. He thought long and hard finally coming to a decision. He would find Harry and make it right. He would tell Harry anything he wanted to know and ask for his input on any decisions concerning him from now on. If Harry wished it, he would even make him a member of the Order.

Stepping through his fireplace he appeared in the Three Broomsticks and apperated to Privet Drive. A search of the smallest bedroom revealed that Harry was indeed gone. He checked the wards verifying that they were fully charged and returned to Hogwarts to write Harry a letter. He was extremely disconcerted when Fawkes returned a few minutes later having been unable to deliver his message.

* * *

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* * *

Review Responses

magic 8 - I will. The story is actually done coming in around 45 thousand words in 9 chapters. All are around 5 thousand give or take except the last one.

edge11 - Thanks.

RaeRoark - Thanks. I'm glad you like it, I just didn't want to do a trunk.

evon2evon - I'm glad you like it. I like that idea too. I like evil Dumbledore fics as well but this is a happy story so this seemed to fit better and will help later on (wink). About the PS, thanks, see above.

Shasta Von Ryan - Smile, that's the original idea I wrote the story around. There's more to him than that, you'll see. Harry comes out ok. Sorry, the necklace already has a use, I think you'll approve.

SeleneA - Stop it I'm blushing. Thanks really. And thanks for the floo tip. I wondered about that every time I typed it but was too lazy to look it up. I fixed it and reposted the chapters so thanks again.


	4. Missing

**Chapter 4 – Missing**

Remus Lupin was sitting in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place wondering why Professor Dumbledore had called an emergency meeting of the Order of the Phoenix for tonight at 8 PM. Deciding he would find out when he found out he picked up the Daily Profit and was about to start reading it when Harry's owl landed on the table beside him.

"Hello Hedwig. Do you have a letter from Harry for me?"

With an affirmative hoot Hedwig held out her leg and let Remus remove the letter addressed to him. He filled a bowl with water and after a quick drink she flew away towards her final destination of the day.

Sitting back down Remus opened the letter happy to be hearing from his best friend's son.

_Dear Moony,_

_I hope this letter finds you well._

_I'm sorry for everything that happened a few weeks ago and I hope you can forgive me someday. I know you miss him too and I hope your doing ok. I'm doing a lot better. It was hard at first and while I will always feel some responsibility for what happened I now realize the fault lies with several people not just me._

_If you haven't gone to Gringotts yet to hear Sirius will you really should. In addition to what he left us he would like you to be my guardian in his place. I have already signed the paper work accepting and I hope you will too though I'll understand and it's ok if you don't want too._

_The main reason I'm writing is to ask if you will be my guardian, I hope you will, but the other is to let you know about some changes I have recently made in my life. Changes that I'm sure you will be hearing about very soon, probably tonight as I'm guessing Dumbledore will be calling an Order meeting soon if he hasn't already, but I thought you deserved to hear it from me first. Please don't be mad at me but I have left Privet Drive. I'm tired of Dumbledore's secrets, half truths and odd need to control my life. I won't go into everything that led me to this decision here, ask Dumbledore to let you see the letter I wrote him and you'll understand. I just wanted to let you know that there's no need to worry, I'm safe and well hidden._

_Take care of yourself,_

_Harry_

Remus emotions were going wild. He felt depression as he read about Sirius and Harry's wish to be forgiven, elation that Harry wanted him to be his guardian and anger at what Dumbledore had driven Harry to do. He would insist Dumbledore showed him Harry's letter.

Remus sat in a contemplative silence for a long time. He had put off going to Gringotts not wanting to admit Sirius was truly gone but that was over now. With one simple wish Harry had found a way to bring him past his loss, _'The main reason I'm writing is to ask if you will be my guardian, I hope you will'_. With a smile on his face and a new sense of hope he left Grimmauld Place to go to Gringotts.

* * *

Mrs. Weasley was just finishing dinner as her husband arrived home from the ministry after another long day working with muggle artifacts. 

"Hello dear how was your day?" asked Molly.

"Wonderful! I found the most amazing thing. I believe it was called a cocolator. It has all these wonderful numbers and buttons! Fascinating device!" a very excited Arthur began to babble.

With a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth she managed to head off her enthusiastic husband before he got too carried away. "Would you mind calling the children down Arthur? Suppers ready."

"Of course dear."

A minute later the elder Weasleys were joined by their four youngest. Bill and Charlie were in Egypt and Romania and Percy had still not come home. Everyone was enjoying Molly's incredible cooking talking about their day when Hedwig flew in the window landing in front of Mr. Weasley. After removing the letter he flew to Ginny landing on her shoulder and nuzzling up to her head. Ginny fed her a bit of meat from her plate after which Hedwig left her shoulder taking a perch on the back of a nearby chair.

"Well," started Mr. Weasley, "I wonder what young Harry has to say." Opening the letter he began to read.

_Dear Weasleys,_

_I can't thank you all enough for the kindness you've all shown me over the years. You've taken me in and treated me as part your family despite the danger being around me tends to bring. Your family is one of the best things that has ever happened to me and I love you all which is why I hope your not to angry with me for what I have done. I'm sure you will be hearing from Dumbledore soon but I wanted to tell you myself first. I have left Private Drive. This hasn't been done on a whim, and I have taken measures to ensure my well being and safety so please do not worry about me, I'll be fine. I'd rather not go into the reasons for this here I explained everything in a letter to Dumbledore feel free to ask him to let you read it._

_Mr. and Mrs. Weasley: Thank you for everything you've done for me over the years. You've always treated me like a son while my own family has barely been able to tolerate me. I love you both, thank you._

_Bill and Charlie: Though I don't know you very well I consider you both good friends. Your brothers and sister think very highly of you and so do I. I hope in the future we will have the chance to spend some time together and get to know each other better. I know I look forward to it._

_Gred and Forge: You have both been great friends and I appreciate you always being there with a prank or joke to cheer me up when I needed it the most. Thank you both. I understand the joke shop is a huge success. Congratulations! If I might make a suggestion I think you should employ Remus Lupin as a consultant. I think you'll find his suggestions and advice most helpful. By the way in case you don't know he also goes by the name Moony._

_Ron: Hey mate. Sorry I won't be able to see you this summer but it sounds like you're having a pretty good one if not a little bit dangerous working with the twins. Thanks for being my best friend Ron, and thanks for always being there when I needed you most. I look forward to seeing you again on September 1st._

_Dearest Ginny: Over the last year and especially the last few weeks you have become the most important person in my life. I can't begin to tell you how much you mean to me. I have looked forward to each and every letter you sent me this summer and have read them more times than you can imagine. I sent a small gift along with Hedwig for you, I hope you like it. I look forward to the next time I see your beautiful face smiling back at me. I love you Gin._

_Once again please don't worry about me, I'm safe and fine._

_With Love,_

_Harry_

Mr. Weasley had tears in his eyes and an odd feeling of pride as he finished reading the letter.

"What is it dear? Is Harry alright?" asked a concerned Molly.

"He says he's fine dear, the letter's written to all of us." Handing the letter and box to his daughter he continued, "I think you should read this next Ginny."

Ginny tried her best to maintain a concerned look as she read the letter, it was hard knowing Harry was upstairs but as she read his words to her she felt the tears on her cheek. Opening the box she found a beautiful gold necklace with a diamond hanging from it. After placing the necklace around her neck she ran upstairs to find Harry.

Molly cried and Ron and the twins were concerned about Harry. Everyone was worried about Ginny thinking she was taking this the hardest and decided to give her some space. The kitchen was uncharacteristically quiet as everyone finished their dinner.

* * *

Harry was sitting on his couch eating dinner when he was tackled by a red head going full speed. After giving him a hug Molly Weasley would be proud of she snogged him senseless. 

"Oh Harry, thank you for the necklace and the things you wrote, I love you so much." said the emotional girl.

"I love you to Gin. You seem to be taking my disappearance pretty well, how's everyone else doing?" asked a grinning Harry.

Ginny smacked him lightly on the back of his head. "Of course I'm taking it well you prat. I have the man of my dreams living in my bedroom." she said with an impish smile. "Dad seemed concerned but oddly had a bit of a smile. I read it next and ran up here to thank you so I don't know how everyone else is taking it but I'm sure their concerned for you. Probably for me too after what you wrote to me. I can't believe you wrote that in a letter for everyone to read."

"I love you Gin, I could never hide the way I feel about you especially from your family."

They shared another kiss and sat on the couch holding each other. After a lot of holding and almost as much snogging the young couple decided it was late and they should get to bed. Ginny reluctantly kissed Harry goodnight and returned to her room closing the door behind her.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was immediately cornered by Remus as he apperated into the main hall of Grimmauld Place. 

"What have you done Albus? Let me see Harry's letter." the werewolf demanded.

Sighing in resignation Dumbledore handed the letter to Remus.

As he read the letter his anger grew. It was all to clear now why Harry had taken the actions he had. Along with all the other things he had done to Harry it looked to Remus like Dumbledore had been attempting to take the guardianship away from him in a further attempt to control Harry's life. Too furious to speak Remus returned the letter to Dumbledore and stormed away.

* * *

Dumbledore sat at the head of the kitchen table at Grimmauld Place as the Order of the Phoenix gathered around him his characteristic twinkle completely gone. When everyone had finally arrived he began to speak. 

"I'm sorry for calling you all here on such short notice but we find ourselves having a bit of a crisis which we must address immediately. Harry Potter is missing."

Gasps were heard around the table as he continued. "I received a letter from young Harry with a list of grievances with the way I have been handling things concerning him. As reluctant as I am to admit it all of his points are valid. He informed me that he was leaving Privet Drive and moving to a location he described as hidden and safe. I went to the Dursley's residence and Harry has indeed left with all his belongings. As of this moment I have been unable to locate him or get a message to him. It is imperative that we find Harry and bring him back here where he is safe."

The room was deathly quite until Severus Snape snorted, his characteristic scowl firmly in place. "Typical Potter. Arrogant brat always thinks he knows best. He's going to get himself killed just like he did to that mutt of a godfather of his."

Remus was furious, first Dumbledore and now this. He could feel the wolf in him demanding to be unleashed as the anger coursed through his veins at Snape's comments. He'd had enough. As a red light began to show in his eyes he let go of his control. Before anyone could even blink he was up. Picking Snape up by his robes he slammed him into the wall. Everyone in the room could hear the sound of ribs breaking.

"That's enough Snape! You have no idea what you're talking about. For years now you've placed the blame for what the Marauders did to you when you were a school boy on Harry's shoulders. He had nothing to do with it and he is not James. You're as much at fault as anyone for what happened to Sirius. Always taunting and pushing him about hiding while everyone else was out on missions when you knew damn good and well he had no choice in the matter. If I ever hear you speak poorly of Harry or Sirius again or catch you harassing Harry you will find yourself locked in a small room with me during a full moon and I will skip the wolfs bane potion that night." Finishing his rant at Snape he pulled him away from the wall holding him up with one hand and punched him in the jaw.

As a now unconscious Snape slumped to the floor Remus turned to Dumbledore and taking a deep breath spoke calmly though the anger he was feeling towards the old man was still clear in his voice. "As Harry's guardian" Remus was sure to put an emphasis on the word guardian, "I am going to uphold Harry's wishes. I believe him when he says he is safe. He's smart, powerful and more than capable of taking care of himself as he has been forced to prove on many occasions. I do not believe you will be able to find him so I would recommend that you respect his wishes and not risk pushing him further away."

Looking around the room one final time at the mixture of shocked and abashed faces he strode to the door leaving the meeting.

Silence followed for several minutes as everyone absorbed what Remus had said.

"Moody and Tonks if you could stay behind I would like to speak with you privately. Everyone else you are free to go. Continue with your current assignments for now but please keep your ears open and let me know if you hear anything concerning Mr. Potter. Thank you all for coming." said Dumbledore.

When the room cleared Albus noticed that Arthur and Molly had stayed behind. Walking up to him Arthur started. "We received a letter from Harry as well and would like to see the letter he mentioned writing to you."

After reading the letter the Weasley's left without saying a word. Dumbledore could sense disappointment and an underlining anger coming from both of them. He wondered if he would be receiving a howler from Molly soon. Returning from his thoughts he turned to the two remaining aurors.

"I would like the two of you to begin searching for Harry."

"Are you sure that's wise Albus." asked Moody.

Dumbledore let out a sigh. "It may not be but I feel it is necessary. Regardless of what Harry may believe he is not safe. We must find him and bring him back to Grimmauld Place where he can be protected."

Nodding their acceptance Moody and Tonks left the kitchen going upstairs to the rooms they were staying in to collect their cloaks speaking quietly on the way.

"Harry isn't going to like this if he finds out." said Tonks.

"Aye but we have our orders."

Before leaving they stopped by Remus room.

"What can I do for you?" asked Remus.

"Nothing." said Tonks. "We just wanted to let you know we agree with you but we've been ordered to find Harry."

"I understand and I'm sure Harry will too. He asked Dumbledore not to look for him but didn't expect him to listen. Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem Remmy. See you later." waved a smiling Tonks as she left with Moody to begin their search for The Boy Who Lived.

* * *

Harry woke in his new bed the next morning with a smile on his face, fully rested from a good nights sleep. His new bed was so much more comfortable than the thin crappy mattress he had slept on at the Dursley's. He thought about being lazy and staying in bed for awhile longer but was looking forward to unpacking today. 

Getting up he wandered down the hall to the study where his trunk was still sitting with all his cloths packed away and selected a comfortable outfit to wear. Padfoot wandered in and demanded Harry pet him before he could go to the bathroom for his shower. After dressing he made his way to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

Entering the kitchen Harry was happy to find a sleepy Ginny in her nightgown getting some juice.

"Good morning Gin." he said as kissed her on the cheek.

"Mmmmrng Hrry." yawned his still sleepy girlfriend.

"I was going to make some breakfast. Would you like some?"

"Sure." Ginny replied rubbing her eyes. "Mind if I use your shower?"

"You don't have to ask Gin. Help yourself to anything."

Ginny gave Harry a quick peck on the lips and went to the living room to get some clothes from her trunk. While Ginny went to take a shower Harry began pulling out pans, bowls and ingredients. By the time a much more alert Ginny returned Harry had breakfast sitting on the bar.

"This is really good. I didn't know you could cook."

Harry shrugged. "The Dursleys have been making me fix breakfast since I could reach the top of the stove. Aunt Petunia taught me a lot she's actually a surprisingly good cook."

"Well everything was wonderful Harry. I better run downstairs for a few minutes and see who's here. After all I am upset because you love me and disappeared remember."

Ginny left and Harry placed the dishes in the sink which started washing them on its own. With a wave of his wand the counters were clean and he was ready to start his day.

* * *

Ginny walked slowly down the stairs in far too good a mood to act depressed. By the time she entered the kitchen only her mum was still home. 

"Good morning Ginny dear. How are you doing this morning?" Molly was very concerned for her daughter. She knew Ginny had loved Harry for years and after finally telling her he loved her in yesterday's letter he had disappearance for the entire summer.

"I'm fine mum." Ginny replied in a resolved tone.

"Are you sure dear? Can I get you something to eat?"

"I'm sure mum. I miss him already but I'll see him on the train in September." All true Ginny thought. I left him five minutes ago and I already miss him and I will see him on the train, of course I'll also see him everyday this summer but that's beside the point. "I'm not really hungry maybe just some juice."

Molly made a glass of pumpkin juice for her daughter and sat down to drink her coffee.

"Did you get to see Professor Dumbledores letter last night?" Ginny already knew what was in the letter. She mainly wanted to find out what happened at the meeting and this seemed to be a good way to bring up the topic.

A glint of anger appeared in Molly's eye. "Yes your father and I read the letter and I can tell you I'm not thinking to highly of Albus right now. I can't say I blame Harry for wanting to leave but I wish he would have come talked to us about it first."

"Did they say anything at the meeting about him?" Ginny carefully asked.

She was surprised to see a grin appear on her mums face. "I really shouldn't tell you this but after Albus told everyone about Harry Severus made some nasty comments about him. Remus told him off and punched him out. Then he told Albus that he believed that Harry would be fine and to trust him and leave him alone. After that he stormed off. Apparently Remus is Harry's guardian now."

A soft smile escaped Ginny's lips, Harry would be thrilled.

Molly was heartened seeing the smile on Ginny's face. Finishing her coffee she placed her cup in the sink. "Well I need to be off. I'll see you tonight sweetheart." Kissing Ginny on the forehead she left for headquarters.

* * *

Ginny returned to the apartment to find Harry levitating their trunks into the bedroom. 

"Hey Gin how'd it go?"

Ginny had a huge smile on her face. "Mum was the only one still here we talked for a bit. She told me Snape said some nasty things about you and Remus punched him out."

Harry's eyes got wide at her proclamation. "You're kidding."

"Nope," Ginny giggled, "He told him off then punched him out. Then he told Dumbledore off and told him you'd be fine like you said and to leave you alone."

Ginny almost laughed at the look on Harry's face. She was looking forward to telling him the last bit.

"She also mentioned that Remus is your guardian now."

This time she did laugh out loud. Harry's happiness was almost palpable in the air.

Harry pulled Ginny into a warm hug. "That's so great. Thanks for telling me that."

"Come on Harry let's unpack."

Harry and Ginny spent the rest of the morning unpacking their clothes which nearly filled the closet. Once the clothes were put away they levitated the trunks back into the study. Ginny made them sandwiches and butter beers for lunch after which they returned to the study to sort through all the books.

They sorted everything by subject making it much easier to search through. As Harry removed the last of the books from his trunk he found the letter Sirius had left for him in the Black Family vault.

"I forgot about this." Harry said.

"Forgot what Harry?"

Harry held up the letter for her to see. As he sat at his desk Ginny stood beside him placing a comforting arm around his shoulder. He gave her a weak smile and opened the letter.

_Son of Prongs,_

_There are several things I think you need to know and if you're reading this then I'm no longer around and was unable to tell you or you found a way past the goblin security on my vault. If it's the latter I'm impressed and incredibly proud._

_First of all if you don't know already there is a prophecy about you. Dumbledore knows it but won't tell anyone. I've tried to get him to at least tell you but the man won't listen to reason. But that's ok, we're marauders, we can work around him. All you have to do is go to the ministry and demand to see the prophecy. A recording of it is kept in the Department of Mysteries and since your name is on it they have to let you see it. I would recommend learning a few privacy spells before you go. We don't know what the prophecy says so you should probably not take any chances when you listen to it. Regardless of what it says, don't let it dictate your life. I'm not sure how much I believe in them anyway but Dumbledore seems to put a lot of stock into this one so it's worth checking out._

_Second the box this letter is sitting on is filled with some of my more 'interesting' research. One of the things you'll find, once again if you haven't already figured out a way to do it, are the spells to remove the tracking charms from your wand so you can do magic without getting caught by the ministry. You'll have to have someone cast the spells for you though; I'd recommend the Weasley twins. They're old enough and I'm sure they'd get a kick out of doing this for you. _

_Finally I wanted to tell you about Padfoot. No not me you great lump, the Padfoot I'm referring to is a small statue of my animagus form. I had the statue made right after you were born. With your mums help I put it through some extensive charm and transfiguration work. A good portion of the notes in the box I mentioned above are from making this statue. Anyway it was supposed to be a gift for your first birthday but I didn't get it done until about two months after. Before I could give it to you, well you know what happened. Anyway the statue would be most easily described as a three dimensional painting of me from right before I went to Azkaban. The problem is I don't know what happened to it. Some of the charm work Lily put on it will bring it to you though. Don't ask me how or when or how the charms work, you're mum was the best at that stuff and even though she tried to explain it to me I have no clue. Just know that one day it'll turn up. When it does all you have to do is touch it and it'll wake up. I wouldn't be a marauder if I told you all its secrets so I'll leave it at that. Just know that it's effectively a younger version of me in my animagus form and will do anything to protect you. I know this because I would._

_Take care Prongslet and take care of my counterpart when he show's up._

_Love ya kiddo,_

_Sirius_

Ginny hugged Harry wiping the tears from his cheeks.

"I guess we need to go back to Gringotts when we get the tracking spell figured out." said Harry.

"We can work on that later. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Gin, thanks for asking. I just miss him. At least the mystery of Padfoot has been solved." Harry said giving her a small smile.

"Do you want to stop for awhile?" asked Ginny.

"No, let's get this done."

Harry put the letter from Sirius in the top drawer of his desk and went back to expanding and shelving the books. There was still a considerable amount of free space on the shelves when they had finished so they decided to raid the vault libraries again when they returned to Gringotts. Not that they would be able to read everything they had this summer but they figured a larger selection would be better for research.

Once they were finished with the study they took their trunks to one of the smaller empty rooms to setup the potions lab. They started by expanding the shelving and positioning it along the two empty sides of the room. Next they expanded the work tables and chairs placing them in the middle of the room. Finally they sorted and shelved the ingredients and lab equipment.

"Everyone will be getting home soon, so I should probably go down stairs for awhile." said Ginny as they finished putting the equipment away.

"Ok. Thanks for everything Gin."

They continued to talk as Harry walked her to the door which they now left open all the time except when Ginny was going to bed.

"What are you going to do?"

"I think I'll setup the stereo and see if I can find the charms to make it all work." said Harry.

Ginny stopped and thought for a moment before leaving the apartment. "I think dad has the spells out in his shed. I'll see if I can find them tonight."

"That would be great. I'll hold off looking until you see if he has them."

"Ok. I'll be back later." With a quick kiss she went down stairs to make an appearance for her family.

Harry went to the coffee table where Ginny's back pack was and removed the new stereo system and television. After expanding everything he unpacked all of the items and banished the packing material. It took longer than he thought it would but he finally managed to get everything connected. He left the plugs sticking out from behind the television now all he needed was the spells to make everything work.

A rumbling from his stomach told Harry it was time for dinner. After making some pasta he grabbed a butter beer from the fridge and took his meal into the study. While he ate he flipped through several volumes looking for possible ways to counter any tracking spells that might be used to locate him.

* * *

Fred appeared in the Weasley's kitchen followed closely by George to find their sister preparing dinner. Both were laughing hysterically and congratulating each other. 

Ginny smiled at the pair, their laughter was always infectious. "Hey guys. What's so funny?"

"Just wait." George answered.

Less than a minute later the fire place roared to life and Ron stepped out. Ginny's hand immediately covered her mouth as she began laughing uncontrollably.

"Ha, ha, very funny. Now fix it!" said a very angry Ron.

"Awe come on Ronnikens you look hot!" teased Fred.

"Yeah, besides little Gin-Gin always wanted a sister." added George.

The flash of a camera went off causing the twins laughter to increase and Ron to turn bright red. A second flash caught his embarrassment and Ginny ran out the back door with Ron and his large breasts chasing right behind her.

"I'm so proud of our little Ginny bear." Fred said wiping fake tears from his eyes.

"We have to get copies of those." said George.

"Of course, Hermione will love them!"

Ginny ran around the house laughing the whole way. She wouldn't stand a chance if Ron caught her but she was faster than him and he was already falling behind. She heard a muffled thud and a string of curses as she disappeared around the corner of the house and made a break for her dad's shed.

Breathing heavily she snuck inside and listened for signs of being followed. When she didn't hear anything she laughed softly. As she began fiddling with the camera she realized where she was and took the opportunity to look through her dad's notes. It didn't take her long to find a book of notes explaining how he made a blender and a radio run on magic. A quick shrinking charm later the book was in her pocket and she was sneaking back to the house.

As she slipped in the front door she felt arms close around her. "Eeeek."

"Gotcha Ginny! Give me that camera." yelled Ron.

Still laughing the twins came running in the room having heard the commotion.

"No, get your own sis." giggled Ginny.

Ron didn't have much trouble getting the camera away from his sister and took great pride in throwing the film in the fireplace. "Ha."

A scowl appeared on Ginny's face. "Fine." she spat out.

They heard the fireplace in the kitchen flare up right before Molly walked in to the room having just come home.

"Mum, they won't fix me." Ron whined pointing at the twins.

Molly examined Ron and turned to the twins. "You will fix you're brother this instant! And you'll both be cleaning up after supper tonight." Her voice was stern but the effect was ruined by the continual twitching at the corners of her mouth.

Ron smirked at the twins not having seen his mum's face as she berated them.

"Alright," said George as he waved his wand dispelling the curse.

"But for the record," said Fred.

"We liked having," added George

"Two sisters!" they finished together.

Molly returned to the kitchen with a grin on her face barely able to contain her laughter while a disgruntled Ron went upstairs to his room.

Fred and George walked up to Ginny each placing a hand on her shoulders.

"Nice one with the camera Ginny." Fred said with a huge smile.

"But next time hide it when you get the chance. Those pictures would have been priceless!" George said laughing at the thought.

Ginny looked at her brothers with an evil grin on her face. "Would have been?" she said as she pulled a small roll of film out of her pocket.

"Wicked Ginny!" said George.

"I knew you were our favorite sister for a reason!" added Fred.

Laughing hysterically the three returned to the kitchen for dinner.

* * *

After an enjoyable dinner with her family during which Ron was shown no mercy, Ginny played several games of chess with him. Eventually she told everyone goodnight and headed up to bed. After closing her door she sat down at the desk in her room to write a short letter. 

_Dear Colin,_

_Hi, I hope your having a fun summer. I need a favor from you. I was wondering if you could develop the roll of film I've enclosed with this letter for me. There are only two pictures on it but I think you'll find them amusing. I would like a half dozen copies of each if it's ok, and feel free to make copies for yourself. I don't know what it costs but I've also included a couple galleons, if it's not enough let me know and I'll send more._

_Thanks a lot,_

_Ginny_

After placing the film and two galleons in the envelope with the letter she addressed it to Colin and walked over to Hedwig who had take up residence in her room.

"Hey Hedwig. Would you mind delivering this to Colin Creevy for me?"

Hedwig hooted twice slowly and rolled her eyes at the mention of his name reluctantly sticking out her leg.

Ginny giggled at her response and attached the letter. "You're the best Hedwig." Ginny said as she kissed the owl on the top of her head.

A much happier hoot later Hedwig flew out the window.

After wishing her boyfriend sweet dreams she changed into a nightgown and went to bed.

* * *

-

* * *

Review Responses 

loopy dane – Thanks. Don't get me wrong, I love several of the Harry lives in a trunk fics but wanted to do something a little different. I'm glad you liked the 'nod'. Thanks again, the warding and Fidilius work came amazingly easy and were fun to write. I'm glad you like Padfoot (there's more to him than you've seen), Sirius was one of my favorite characters I hated to see him die (don't worry, I will not resurrect him). As to your PS, sorry but I am looking for lots of feedback on this fic it being my first but I will post daily rather than drag it out too much. I just updated my bio so if you read it I think you'll understand.

Oomahey – Thanks, that's the idea I built the story around. The door seems very popular. I wanted Harry to hide in Gin's room but didn't know how to do it and not get caught. At first I thought of a trunk but as I started to write it decided it was too easy and wrote it out. Then I thought about making a secret room in her closet but while writing them walking through the alley I had them duck Snape and everything just fell together. To sum up, just lucky I guess. I'm glad you like it.

Arye – I thought it was funny. You'll like the pictures. Thanks, there's more to him.

Treck – I will. Look at it this way; at least I'm posting daily instead of once a month.

DestinyFate – Hey, thanks a lot! I hope you like the rest just as much.

Night-Owl123 – Will do.

Bumblebuzz – I'm glad. I agree.

LiLy MaLfOy13 – Thank you. Nice nick by the way, it scares me.

immortalwizardpirateelf-fan – Ha. I wrote that up to Gin running out the door then sat there a long time figuring out what they did to him. Wait for the pictures! Thanks, that piece is really popular. So do I. Will do.

the DragonBard – Thanks, I'm glad. This story's already complete but those are good ideas.

VHDL – Thank you. Will do.


	5. Busted!

**Chapter 5 – Busted!**

Harry was in the study continuing his search on tracking charms the next morning when Ginny came in.

"Good morning." she said with a smile placing a light kiss on his lips.

"Mmmm good morning to you too." a now grinning Harry replied.

"Still looking for the tracking spells?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah, not having much luck. I just found a couple books on concealment and tracking that look promising if you want to help."

"Sure. Here's the notes from my dad by the way."

Harry stopped his search to look at Arthur's notes for a few minutes. "Wow, it takes a lot of spell's to make electricity work right. Look at this Gin. It look's like he blew up quite a few appliances before he got one to work right."

"That doesn't surprise me. We're always hearing the odd explosion coming from dad's shed."

Harry leaned back in thought for a minute. "I think we should pick up a couple power strips to charm rather than charming the items. At least that way we don't blow up the stereo or television if it doesn't work the first time."

"Ok. What's a power strip?" Ginny asked not know much about muggle electronics.

"Sorry, I forget you didn't grow up with muggles. You know how you plug a muggle device into an outlet right?" asked Harry.

"Yes."

"Well, if you don't have enough outlets you can plug in a power strip. It basically changes one outlet into several. I think if we charm the power strip to work then we can just plug everything else into it instead of charming every piece separately." explained Harry.

Ginny nodded in understanding. "That's brilliant Harry. We still need to figure out something for the tracking charms so you can go outside first though."

"True." Harry said offering her a book. "Shall we?"

Taking the book Ginny went to sit at her desk across from Harry's and got to work. As luck would have it Harry had found the correct books and within an hour they had the spells they needed.

"Feel like doing some more shopping Gin?"

"As long as I'm doing it with you." Ginny said earning a large smile from Harry.

Harry removed a now empty shrunken trunk and a money bag from his desk drawer. They donned their concealment cloaks and placed the trunk and money safely in a pocket. Harry left his ring on the desk and went downstairs with Ginny to floo to Diagon Alley.

There were more people shopping today than there were during their last trip but it didn't take them long to get to Gringotts. After exchanging greetings with Griphook Harry and Ginny were escorted to the Black Family vault. They quickly found the box Sirius had mentioned in his letter and wasted no time placing it in the first compartment of Harry's trunk.

Opening the second compartment they spent an hour going through all the books in the library shrinking and adding to the trunk anything that looked remotely interesting. The trunks compartment was nearly filled with books when Harry heard a strange voice whispering to him.

"-Leave Wissszard. Youssss are not worthhhhy to besssss here.-"

Following the voice he eventually found a small ancient looking chest that seemed to be the source of the whispering.

"-Leave ussss Wissszard.-"

Opening the chest Harry was surprised to find two books with odd lines on their spines. As Harry focused on the lines they began to shift and change into words. A moment later he could read the titles. Parseltongue: Advanced Battle Magic and Parseltongue: Protection Spells and Wards. As he picked up the books he noticed a silver snake on the cover of each one, the source of the voices he now knew to be Parseltongue.

"-Why doessss you touch ussss Wissszard-" hissed the snakes.

Concentrating on the serpents Harry was able to reply. "-I heard you speaking and followed the voices. I am a Parseltongue and can understand you and the writing on these books.-"

"-Youssss can understand usssss? Placccce your hand on me Wissszard.-"

Harry placed his hand upon the snake on the cover of the book. As he touched the silver imprint of the serpent he felt a strange yet oddly familiar magic flow through his body. A second later it was over and the snake spoke.

"-Youssss are worthhhy. You may learn thhhat which issss wittthin.-"

"-Umm, thank you, I guess.-"

"-Theeesse magicssss are ssstrong, placcced in our care by Ssssalassszar the greatessst of the four. Thhhey are not for evil wissszardsss.-" replied the snake. "-Youssss are worthhhy.-" it repeated.

"-But I thought Salazar was an evil wizard.-" Harry said confused.

The snake hissed venomously. "-NO! He wasss a dark wissszard not an evil wissszard.-" Harry nodded understanding the difference. "-Youssss mate issss looking at ussss.-"

Harry turned around to find Ginny staring at the books with no small amount of fear on her face. Setting them on the ground Harry stood and approached Ginny.

"Gin?" he said softly. Ginny continued to stare at the books as though she hadn't heard him. Taking her hands in his he tried again. "Ginny!"

Startled out of her thought's she looked at Harry the fear still showing in her eyes. "Harry?"

"Please don't be scared of me Gin, I don't think I could bare it if you were. It's only Parseltongue , you knew I could speak it." pleaded Harry.

"N..n..no Harry, that's not it." she said. "I could understand you."

Harry looked surprised for a minute. "Can you read the titles on the books?"

Ginny nodded her eyes never leaving his.

Harry thought for several minutes and Ginny was surprised when a soft smile appeared on his face. "I guess we should have expected this."

"What?" asked Ginny.

"Riddle's diary. He would have had to give you the ability for you to be able to open the chamber."

Ginny looked like she was ready to cry at his words. "Gin, it's ok."

"No, no it's not. It's evil, it's his, I don't want it." Tears began to run down her cheeks.

"I'm a Parselmouth Gin, am I evil? Do you think my ability to speak to snakes is his?" Harry spoke softly rubbing the backs of her hands with his thumbs to help calm her. Ginny shook her head no to both questions. "Then why would you think any different of your ability?"

"Because he gave it too me." she whispered.

"He gave it to me too." Harry said.

"What?"

Harry nodded as he told her. "Yes, I wasn't born a Parselmouth. He gave it to me when I was one year old, the night he killed my parents and tried to kill me."

It took her a minute to accept what he was saying. Seeing her slump slightly in acceptance Harry pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear. "It's ok Gin. It's a gift and one I'm sure he didn't mean for us to get in my case or keep in yours. I think these books can help us Gin. He'll never see it coming!" he finished with a smile.

His last comment earned a weak hearted laugh as she sniffed and wiped the tears from her face. "Ok Harry. I trust you."

Harry gave her a long slow kiss and a smile before pulling away to pick up the books and addressing the snake. "-May she try-"

"-Yessss, Placcce your hand on me witch.-" hissed the snake.

Ginny nervously placed her hand on the cover of the book and felt the same magic wash through her that Harry had felt.

"-Youssss are worthhhy. You too may learn that which issss wittthin.-"

Harry grinned at Ginny who was now grinning back. Taking her hand he led her back to the trunk. After placing the two books with the others he shrank the trunk and returned it to his pocket never letting go of his girlfriend's hand as they left the vault.

A short cart ride later they found themselves in the Potter Family vault where they began filling the third compartment of Harry's trunk with shrunken books.

As Ginny ran her hand along a row of books looking at the titles she felt a book that shouldn't have been there. Moving her hand back to an empty space in the row she felt it again. Carefully she removed the apparently invisible book from the shelf.

Walking around the vault she found Harry a few isles down from where she had discovered the book. "Harry, check this one out."

Carefully she handed him the book. "Wow Gin. Any idea what it is?"

"Not really but it might be fun to try and figure it out." she said.

"Alright, let's put it in the bottom of the first compartment of the trunk so we don't loose it."

Ginny took the book from Harry and carefully placed it in the trunk. A half hour later the third compartment was full off books and they were ready to leave.

* * *

Harry and Ginny had just left 'Starks Wizarding Timepieces' after purchasing a family clock similar to the Weasley's and were walking past Quality Quidditch Supplies when they were grabbed from behind and pulled into a deserted side alley. Their abductors spun them around and the pair found themselves face to face with Mad Eye Moody and Nymphadora Tonks. 

"Constant Vigilance eh Potter. I'm not impressed." growled Moody, "I'm surprised to see you're in on his scheming Weasley."

"Wotcher Harry, hey Ginny." said Tonks in her usual enthusiastic voice.

Harry carefully took Ginny's right hand in his left making sure he was in contact with her ring. His wand was already in his right hand having drawn it when they were pulled into the alley. "I guess you're eye can see through the charms on these cloaks then huh? So what's the plan? You gonna take us back to headquarters or Dumbledore?" asked Harry.

"Calm down Harry we're not gonna turn you in." sighed Tonks.

"Why not?" said Ginny.

"Why don't we get a private room at the Leaky Cauldron and have some lunch where we can discuss this in private." Moody said as his magical eye scanned the area.

Nodding in agreement the four made their way to the Leaky Cauldron where they requested a private room and ordered some lunch. After Tom left Moody sealed the door and cast several security spells on the room. Happy with what they were seeing Harry and Ginny finally lowered their hoods.

"Nice cloaks you two." said Moody, "Good to see you're taking the proper precautions. What spells are you using?"

"Several." replied Harry.

Moody chuckled at his response. "That's better Potter. Never show em what ya got." Mad Eye then pulled his wand and stood up. In an instant Harry and Ginny's wands were both pointed at him.

Moody's face contorted into a grin at this. "Salright Harry I just want to check to see you're covered."

Harry squeezed Ginny's leg under the table and nodded to Moody. After casting several charms Moody put away his wand and sat down.

"You did a good job Potter. I'd add one for scrying though."

Harry and Ginny relaxed and put away their wands finally getting comfortable with the pair of aurors.

"So," started Ginny, "why aren't you taking us in? We figure the Orders looking for Harry."

Tonks giggled. "Actually thanks to Remus as far as we know we're the only two assigned to find him the rest of the Order is just supposed to keep their eyes open and report to Dumbledore. Don't worry though we already talked to Remus and agree with him and you for that matter so we haven't really been looking that hard. It was dumb luck Mad Eye saw you coming out of Gringotts."

Harry smiled. "So you'll keep our secret?"

"Aye we will." said Moody, "Can I assume that we can get in touch with you through Ms. Weasley if we need to?"

"Yes, but only in an emergency. I don't want to get caught because someone sees a lot of messages going back and forth to her."

"Fair enough, are you sure the place you're staying is safe?" asked Tonks.

"Positive." Harry said grinning.

The four enjoyed a nice lunch and were getting ready to leave when Harry remembered the book Ginny had found. Expanding his trunk he opened the first compartment and removed the invisible item.

"Hey, we found this book in my family vault. Can either of you tell me what it is?"

Moody grumbled something about not being able to make out the text but Tonks got excited seeming to know what it was. "I think that's the 'Invisible Book of Invisibility' Harry, try drawing a circle around it and tapping it with your wand."

Harry did as he was told and the book faded into existence. "Brilliant!" exclaimed Harry.

"That's a hard book to come by for obvious reasons. Think I could borrow it sometime Harry?" Tonks pleaded.

"Sure Tonks, I wouldn't even know what it was without your help. I want to take a look at it first though, see what I can learn."

"No problem, thanks Harry." said a now grinning Tonks.

Moody and Tonks accompanied the pair to muggle London where Harry bought several power strips from the electronics store they had visited before and at Moody's suggestion they stopped by a physical fitness store. Harry bought an assortment of weight and physical training machines and received instruction on their use. With the aurors and Ginny's help they managed to shrink the equipment and store it in Harry's trunk without the muggles seeing them.

"Thanks for everything guys." said Harry as he and Ginny were getting ready to leave. "Tell Moony I said hi and I'm doing fine. You can tell him about Ginny if you want but no one else and make sure he knows to only contact her in an emergency."

"We will Harry. How are you getting back?" asked Tonks.

Harry was already holding Ginny's right hand in his left their fingers intertwined so he was touching her ring. "Now that would be telling wouldn't it?" Harry grinned as he said this then turned to face Ginny. With his back to the aurors he surreptitiously pulled his wand. Leaning in to kiss Ginny he tapped her ring twice and they disappeared leaving behind two stunned aurors.

Tonks waved her wand casting several revealing spells where the teens had been standing before turning to Moody. "What the hell was that?" she asked, "It wasn't apparition or a port key."

Moody examined the area closely casting several spells of his own before laughing. "I don't know either Tonks. You've got to hand it to Potter, and all that time I thought we could have taken him if we wanted to."

Tonks joined him in his laughter before the pair apperated away.

* * *

Remus was sitting at the kitchen table in Grimmauld Place absently sipping on a butter beer. He missed Harry and though he'd never admit it to Dumbledore he was worried about him. As he sat lost in his thoughts Moody and Tonks walked into the kitchen. 

"Wotcher Remmy!" smiled Tonks.

"Hello Tonks, Moody." Remus replied with a weak grin.

Moody's eye was spinning wildly as he motioned to the pair to be quiet and follow him upstairs.

After the three were in Moody's room he secured the door and warded the room just as he had done at the Leaky Cauldron. Once he was satisfied the room was secure he began. "We ran into Potter in Diagon Alley earlier."

"You saw Harry!" Remus almost shouted. "How is he? Is he alright? Can I see him? Where..."

Tonks cut him off laughing at the werewolf. "Easy Remus, Harry's fine. He said we could tell you what we know but it has to be kept between the three of us. Ok?"

Remus nodded excitedly, eager for them to tell him what they knew about Harry.

Tonks continued while Mad Eye continued to scan the area. "It's just like you thought Remus, Harry's fine and seems to know exactly what he's doing. We have no doubts that he's safe. He said to tell you he was ok and not to worry about him."

Remus relaxed a little at her words.

"Oh yea, and he's got a girlfriend." Tonks slipped in with a grin.

"WHAT?" yelled a shocked Remus, "Who?"

Tonks started laughing while Moody grinned. "It's the Weasley girl."

"Ginny? Does she know where Harry is?" asked a hopeful Remus.

"Yes she does. She's been helping him with this. But before you ask no we don't know where he's hiding and no you can't ask Ginny." said Tonks. "Harry said we could tell you about Ginny but he said we could only contact her in an emergency. He's worried that if we start sending messages to her someone will catch on."

Remus sighed, Harry was correct. At least he knew Harry was safe and he could reach him if he needed too. "I understand what else can you tell me?"

"Well," thought Tonks, "it looks like he's studying and can use magic now. And he's found some way to travel that neither of us can recognize. I think that's about it."

"What do you mean he has a way to travel you don't recognize."

"When we got ready to leave earlier I asked him how he was going to get home, he turned around to kiss Ginny and they just vanished." Tonks mused, "We looked for residual magic but couldn't find anything."

An evil grin appeared on Remus face. "Traveling by kiss, I'm so going to have to tease him about that."

* * *

Harry and Ginny appeared in the apartment's study still kissing. After a long while they pulled apart. 

"I can't believe you did that." Ginny said, still trying to catch her breath from the kiss.

Harry smiled his eyes still a bit glazed. "I thought it would help hide the rings." he said. Then as an afterthought added, "Plus I really wanted too."

Ginny laughed and hit him lightly on the shoulder. Harry put his ring back on and after putting away their cloaks they took Harry's trunk to the empty room across from the potions lab and setup the training equipment they had purchased.

After finishing with the weight room they expanded the magical clock and placed it against a bare stretch of wall in the living room. Ginny had the idea of buying one for the apartment. They would add the Weasley's to it so they would know when someone was home.

Returning to the study Harry left the power strips on the desk and they began shelving the books. By the time Ginny had to leave for dinner they had shelved about half the books from the Black Family vault.

"I'll see you later." Ginny said. After placing a kiss on Harry's cheek she left the apartment.

Harry continued shelving books for another hour before he decided to have some dinner. He was in the middle of cleaning up when Ginny ran in the kitchen laughing so hard tears were running down her cheeks.

Harry couldn't help grinning at the sight of her. "What's so funny Gin?"

Unable to speak she handed Harry two pictures. Harry immediately broke down laughing. His laughter only increased as he watched the photo's until he finally had to stop looking because his sides hurt too much.

They were wizarding photos of Ron with breasts that had to be the size of large cantaloupes. He was clearly upset and lecturing the twins who were laughing hysterically and kept pointing at him. As you continued to watch the photo you could occasionally see one of the twins wolf whistle, wink or blow a kiss which only served to make Ron madder.

The second was similar to the first but far better. Even though he was yelling at the twins, in this picture the twins could be seen making comments which would cause Ron to blush like a little girl. However the best part was that every so often Ron would look around to see if anyone was watching and sneak a look down his own shirt.

When Harry finally stopped laughing, he looked over to see Ginny glowing with mirth. He honestly thought she had never looked more beautiful.

Pulling her close to him he gave her a loving kiss before pulling back with a huge grin. "I have to know everything."

A still giggling Ginny led Harry to the couch where she proceeded to explain what had happened the night before.

* * *

After breakfast the next morning Harry and Ginny returned to the study and continued shelving the trunk load of books they had acquired the day before. They finished before lunch time and began researching wards. Their plan was to use the large empty room at the end of the hall for a training room and they would need to ward the walls, floor and ceiling against damage from stray curses. 

The wards were easy enough to find, several of the books on wards had recommended combinations for training rooms. After reading through them they selected a combination that seemed appropriate for the training they were planning but decided to have lunch before preparing the room.

"Mmmm, this is wonderful Gin." Harry said as he took another bite of the soup Ginny had made them.

"Thanks. Mum taught me how to make it last summer."

Remembering something from earlier in the week an evil grin appeared on Harry's face. "So, you have yet to tell me about Harry Jr."

Ginny's face instantly turned bright red and she began to pout. "Harrrrryyyy," she said drawing out his name, "I thought you weren't going to tease me about that."

Chuckling Harry decided to apologize. "I'm sorry Gin. I really do think it's cute. I just can't help but see a cute little Ginny running around carrying a little me when I think about it."

"'The Boy Who Lived' was my favorite bedtime story so Mum made him for my third birthday. I carried that doll everywhere until I was about six or seven then he pretty much stayed on my bed after that."

Harry was grinning and staring off into space. "I think if it was anyone but you it would seem weird to see a little doll of me but for some reason it makes me happy to think about a younger you running around with him."

Ginny was still blushing slightly but smiling fondly at her memories. "We had loads of tea parties together. The twins stole him from me once. They turned his hair red and called him Harry Weasley. I was so mad I did accidental magic and turned them both red head to toe. Mum was able to fix Harry's hair but she left the twins red for a week. None of my brothers would mess with him after that."

"My hero." said Harry. Ginny scowled slightly at the comment, it was only the sincerity in his voice and eyes and a quick kiss that saved him from a good hexing.

After lunch they returned to the study to retrieve their notes and the book they would need before heading to the large empty room at the end of the hall.

There were several wards and spells that needed to be cast and each one had to be cast 6 times to cover the floor, ceiling and all the walls. The book said that you could cast each spell a single time covering the entire room but the results would be much better if you broke it up. Harry started by casting the ward to protect against spell damage as it required the most power. As he finished each spell Ginny would follow behind adding a ward to protect against physical damage. By Ginny following Harry around the room they assured the spells were layered the same way on each surface.

They continued in this manner adding several additional layers of protection. The final charm they added was an all purpose cushioning charm to help protect them from physical injury.

It had taken most of the afternoon to finish and they were both tired when they finally left the practice room. They still had a little time before Ginny had to leave for dinner and decided to add the spoons to the family clock in the living room. The instructions that came with it were very detailed and easy to follow. Ginny had managed to get a bit of hair from her parents, the twins and Ron the night before and it wasn't long before her mums spoon was pointing to 'unknown' and the rest to work. Finally they added two different sounding chimes to let them know when everyone came or left the Burrow.

Not long after Harry and Ginny finished the clock they heard a chime and found Molly's spoon pointing to 'Home'.

"I guess that's my cue." Ginny said with a sigh.

"I guess so. See you later?" Harry asked with a hopeful look on his face.

Ginny grinned. "Of course Harry. You couldn't keep me away if you wanted to. It is my room after all."

After sharing a short laugh and a kiss Ginny left the apartment. As she walked down stairs she reflected on how close they had become in the weeks since school let out and couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Dinner was a happy affair as was usual at the Burrow. Molly served everyone dinner while Arthur spoke of a strange muggle device called a stapler. He wasn't sure what muggles used it for but he'd had a wonderful time taking it apart to see how it worked. Ron grumbled while the twins told stories of testing new products and Ron growing rainbow colored fur when he 'accidentally' fell into a tub of 'Fantastic Fruity Fur Cream' the twins had been developing. 

Ginny listened to the conversation with amusement excusing herself for the evening as soon as she was done eating and returning to her room.

"That poor girl." said a worried Molly, "She hides it well but I know she's upset about Harry. Always staying home, locked away up in her room."

"We've tried several times to get her to work at the shop with us but she just says she wants to spend the summer at home." said Fred.

Arthur looked around the table and sighed. "She'll be fine, I think she just wants some space and we should leave her to it."

"I suppose." replied Molly though she didn't seemed very convinced.

* * *

Ginny returned to her room closing the door behind her. As she passed through the doorway to Harry's apartment she detected the scent of something burning. Looking around the living room she found Harry on his knees by the entertainment system plugging the electronics into one of the power strips they had bought. 

"Harry, what's that smell?" asked Ginny wrinkling up her nose.

Harry finished plugging in the stereo and turned around causing Ginny to break down in laughter. Harry's shirt was covered in burn marks, his face in soot and his hair was standing on end.

"You're dad left a couple of things out of his notes." grumbled Harry though a grin could be seen sneaking through his serious look.

Ginny fell on the couch she was laughing so hard but screamed when Harry snuck a kiss getting soot all over her face before he ran to the bathroom to clean up.

After making some popcorn they snuggled on the couch and enjoyed a comfortable evening together watching movies. They both thought it was a nice break after all the hard work of the last week.

"Goodnight Harry." Ginny said as they parted from a kiss.

"Night Gin, Sleep well we're going to start training tomorrow." smiled Harry.

After another short kiss they parted ways and went to sleep.

* * *

"Life Savers." said Tonks causing the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office to leap aside. 

"I thought he only used sweets as his passwords." Moody mentioned as they were riding up the spiral staircase.

Tonks smiled, "He does. Life Savers is the name of a muggle sweet."

They were about to knock when they heard Dumbledore's voice from within his office. "Come in Alastor and Nymphadora."

Tonks grimaced at the use of her first name as she followed Moody to the chairs in front of the old wizard's desk. Both aurors made sure their Occulmency shields were at full strength as they sat down.

"Albus." said Moody.

"Headmaster." followed Tonks.

"Good to see you both, lemon drop?" Dumbledore said as he held up a tin of the offered sweets. Both aurors declined. "I do hope you have good news for me."

"Sorry Albus." began Moody, "We've checked all the usual places and the places we know Potter is familiar with without any luck. No one from the Order has seen or heard anything and we can't ask our other contacts without risking news of the boy's disappearance leaking out. He could be hiding out in the muggle world but we wouldn't know where to begin looking if that's the case. As you know none of the usual tracking spells are working."

Tonks added some additional information. "I spent some time in the known Death Eater hangouts and haven't heard any mention of Harry so hopefully they still don't know he's missing."

Dumbledore seemed to get much older during the conversation, his twinkle having dimmed considerably since the pair arrived.

Moody looked thoughtful as he met the headmaster's eye. "You know Albus Potter's not stupid it's quite possible that he is perfectly safe like he said in his letter. If we can't find him when we know him I doubt the Death Eaters could."

"I hope so Alastor. I hope so." Dumbledore said softly. "Keep searching. Let me know immediately if you find anything."

Moody and Tonks nodded and left the office. As they walked through the hallways of Hogwarts towards the front door they shared a knowing smile.

* * *

-

* * *

Review Responses 

Potter Reader – The door is a big hit. Thanks.

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Tondo-the-half-elf – That's a good question. However I think I'm okay here as I'm not using 'bite' as a verb but as a noun. The difference being I'm not describing the act of biting but indicating an amount. Still, perhaps spoonful would have been less controversial.


	6. Life at the Burrow

**Chapter 6 – Life at the Burrow**

Harry and Ginny's lives fell into a routine over the day's that followed the setting up of the apartment. They had to be careful to fit their schedule around the comings and goings at the Burrow but as things fell into place they found themselves enjoying their training very much. Occasionally Ginny would miss part or all of a day because of her family obligations but she was dedicated and missed very few.

The day started early for the young couple with a rigorous workout a few hours before breakfast. Moody had explained to them that wizards typically frowned on physical activity favoring the use of magic and if they were to get their bodies in shape they would be able to out last most wizards in a fight. So they would find themselves in the workout room lifting weights, using the machines and running on the treadmill for a few hours every morning while everyone else in the Burrow was still sleeping.

Following the workout Ginny would take a shower and get dressed before joining the rest of the Weasley's for breakfast. While she was gone Harry would take his shower and make himself breakfast.

Breakfast was followed by a combination of potions and study. Though they worked on many different potions they concentrated on brewing healing potions which were labeled and stored. Dueling practice could be quite dangerous with the curses they were learning so it was a good idea to have a wide variety of cures ready to go. When they weren't brewing potions they would study. Harry having taken his owl exams at the end of the year did not have any assigned classes and no summer homework and was able to study other things. Ginny concentrated on completing her summer homework first so that she would be able to join Harry in learning magic's to prepare for their inevitable encounter with Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Lunch was enjoyed together after which they would spend an hour practicing Occulmency and Legilimancy. Harry hadn't had any visions since the Department of Mysteries but knew the quiet wouldn't last and he needed to learn this skill to protect against his connection to Voldemort. Ginny wanted to learn in order to help Harry. She also thought it would be a good idea to be able to occlude her mind if she ran into Dumbledore. They both knew he had a habit of performing minor Legilimancy during conversations and didn't want him to find out Ginny was in contact with Harry. As they progressed in their study of this rare art they discovered a side benefit of ordering their minds was that they had a higher retention rate when they were reading and seemed to learn things quicker.

After Occulmency they would move into the practice room and work on spells and dueling until dinner. Harry and Ginny hated parting for dinner but it was a must. So every night she would kiss him on the cheek and join her family for the evening meal. Sometimes she would return and join Harry for additional studying or to relax and watch a movie and sometimes she would stay with her family.

* * *

Harry was reading a book on dueling tactics and Ginny was working on an essay for transfiguration a few days into their study routine when Padfoot wandered into the office and started barking at Harry. 

"Hey Padfoot."

Padfoot took Harry's sleeve in his mouth and pulled him to one of the shelves beside the door.

"What is it boy?" Harry asked.

Padfoot barked looking at the shelves. "Is there a book you want me to read?"

Harry's question was met with a growl after which Padfoot turned back to the shelf and began barking again. Examining the contents of the shelves Harry noticed the box Sirius had left in the Black vault for him.

"Sirius box?" Harry said. This time he was met with a bark rather than a growl and picked up the box taking it to his desk.

The box wasn't very big, maybe a foot square but it was packed with parchment. As Harry began sorting through the stack of papers he found the spells to remove the ministry tracking charms from wands and smiled. Continuing on his eyes went wide as he discovered the notes on the creation of the Marauder's Map.

"Wow, Gin."

Ginny walked around the desks to have a look at the parchments with Harry and her eyes immediately went wide at the find.

"Wow is right. We should make a map of the Burrow so we always know who's around." said a wide eyed Ginny.

Padfoot growled drawing the attention of the two teens. Shaking his head Padfoot jumped up onto the desks and began pushing through the stack of parchment with his paw. Harry and Ginny stood back not quite sure what was going on. After a few minutes the dog stopped with his paw on a thick pile of parchments that were bound together in a crude book of sorts. Picking up the book Harry read the title out loud. "Mr. Padfoot and Mrs. Lily Flower's notes on 'Padfoot'"

Padfoot barked again as he read the title. "You want me to read these Padfoot?"

Harry was answered with another bark and sat down to read. Ginny decided to take a look at the notes on the Marauder's Map and took them back to her desk.

An hour had passed and Ginny was reading a section of notes on the spells which identify the individuals within the mapped area when she heard Harry let out a large gasp. She looked up to find a look of astonishment on his face. His eyes were opened wide and he kept looking back and forth between Padfoot and the notes. Padfoot seemed to almost be smiling about whatever Harry had discovered.

Harry cleared his throat and swallowed before speaking in a shaky voice. "Padfoot, show me Sirius."

Padfoot's form seemed to blur and bend, his shape rapidly changing. A few seconds later instead of a large grim Harry was faced with an easel on which sat a portrait of his late godfather Sirius Black.

"Hey Kiddo."

* * *

Molly Weasley had been thinking and worrying about her daughter for the last week. She was happy that Harry had finally declared his love for her she had hoped for so long that Ginny's affection for the young man would be returned one day she just wish things would have worked out better than they had. 

Coming to a decision she finished updating the map of England she was working on for the Order with the latest Death Eater activity and went to find Remus.

When she didn't find him in the kitchen she climbed the stairs and knocked on his bedroom door.

"Come in." she heard through the door.

Entering the room she found Remus sitting at his desk going over several piles of parchments.

"Hello Molly. What can I do for you?" Remus asked.

"I thought I'd take the afternoon off to spend with Ginny if you thought you'd be ok alone here this afternoon."

Remus smiled wondering if he should keep her here for Harry's sake…Nah. "That's fine. It's been pretty calm around here lately. Tell Ginny I said hi."

"Thank you Remus. I'll see you tomorrow."

Closing the door behind her Molly went downstairs to the entrance hall and apperated away from Grimmauld Place.

* * *

Tears were shining in Harry's eyes as he looked at the portrait "S..S..Sirius?" he asked not daring it to be true. 

A wide grin appeared on the face of the Marauder. "You got it in one Harry." laughed Sirius. "Well, sort of anyway."

Ginny had tears running down her cheeks as she witnessed the reunion of sorts happy that Harry would at least get to know his godfather a little better through the portrait. Moving around the desks she stood next to Harry with her arms around his shoulder.

"Hi Ginny. Thanks for taking such good care of my wayward godson by the way."

Ginny laughed as she wiped the tears away. "You're welcome. He takes good care of me too."

Sirius had a bit of mischief in his eyes. "Yes he does, too bad he's so short and a bit of a runt. What do you think we should do about that?"

"Hey! I'm right here!" Harry said indignantly.

Sirius and Ginny started laughing and were soon joined by Harry. The clock in the living room chimed and Ginny went to check it returning a moment later.

"I've got to go, mum's home." she said.

"Ok, see you later Gin."

As Ginny kissed Harry Sirius decided to make his presence known with a series of whistles and cat calls. Ginny smacked his frame on the way out of the room as she left to see why her mum was home.

The memories of the Department of Mysteries returned as Harry was left alone with the portrait of Sirius. The blush and smile left his face and he became very quite. "I've missed you Sirius…I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry I got you killed." Harry choked out through his sobs.

"Woe there Kiddo, back up a sec. I doubt is all that bad, why don't you tell me what happened." Sirius said with a comforting smile on his face.

Harry wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. He told Sirius about the visions, about Occulmency with Snape and about Umbridge. He explained what happened during his tests and in Umbridge's office. He told him all about the Forest, riding Thestrals, sneaking into the Department of Mysteries and finally the fight with the Death Eaters. Throughout the entire explanation Sirius kept grinning. Sirius even laughed out loud at times while Harry was describing the fight with the Death Eaters.

Harry was staring at the floor as he finished unable to look his godfather in the eye. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

"Hey," said Sirius, "Look at me kiddo."

Harry slowly looked up and faced Sirius with his bloodshot eyes and tear streaked face.

"It wasn't your fault Harry. In fact I'm damn proud of you kid. Sodding Death Wankers out numbered you guys two to one and you kicked their bloody arses! That's my boy!" Sirius bragged like a proud father.

"But," began Harry but Sirius cut him off.

"No buts. The simple fact Harry is that you thought I was in trouble and risked everything to save me. Right so far?" Harry didn't know what to say and simply nodded.

"So why would you think I wouldn't do the same for you regardless of the consequences? I died fighting Death Eaters protecting the one person in this world I love above all others. Believe me when I tell you wherever I am now, I'm happy. I'm happy and I'm proud of you, of the man you've become."

"Thanks Sirius."

"No problem kiddo. Now why don't we back up to the beginning. I need you to catch me up with what's been going on in your life. The life experience that I was made with was from just after your first birthday and you seem to have grown a bit since then." said a grinning portrait.

Harry smiled and began telling Sirius his life story.

* * *

"Hi mum." Ginny said as she walked into the kitchen. 

"Hello dear. I thought we could go out to lunch and spend the afternoon together if you would like."

"Ok."

Molly looked at her daughter with concern. "Are you ok dear? It looks like you've been crying."

Ginny gulped, she had been crying but not for the reasons her mother would think.

"I'm fine mum. I'm just a little worried about Harry is all." Still not lying she thought.

"I worry about him too dear, but I'm sure he'll be fine. He's a fine young man and knows how to take care of himself. Try not to worry about him too much." said Molly.

I know mum. I'll try not too. Where do you want to go to lunch?" Ginny asked changing the subject.

* * *

Ginny and Molly returned home late in the afternoon and Ginny went upstairs to check on Harry before dinner. As she entered the apartment she heard laughter coming from the study. 

"And then", Sirius said between laughs, "Snape's clothes were turned inside out including his unmentionables which normally in Snape's case I would definitely leave unmentioned but these had purple dinosaurs on them."

"No, please, stop, stop..." Harry managed to force out through side splitting hysterical laughter.

Ginny grinned as she saw Harry. The portrait had most definitely had a positive effect on him. "Having fun boys?"

"Gin!" Harry exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat and pulled her into a hug. "You have to let Sirius tell you about the time the Marauders put pucker powder in Dumbledore's goblet during the opening feast."

She giggled at Harry's enthusiasm and the wicked grin on the portraits face. "Sorry but it'll have to wait until later I have to go back down for dinner, I just stopped by to check on you."

"Thanks Gin, I'm great." Harry said though his stomach chose that moment to let out a great roar.

"Did you eat any lunch Harry?" she asked.

"Umm…"

"Sorry Ginny I'll take the blame for that one." Sirius said, "We had a couple things to work through and then got to talking and next thing you know…"

"Well ok. I'll let it slide this time but make sure he gets something to eat for dinner, ok?"

"Yes ma'am!" Sirius said as he stood at attention and saluted earning himself another slap on the frame. "You're right. He'll always be a little squirt if he doesn't eat enough."

"Hey, I'm still right here!" Harry said again.

The three shared another laugh and Ginny left for dinner. Harry made a large helping of fish and chips for himself and returned to the study to eat with Sirius.

"I think I can help you with your training Harry, and the Marauder's Map of the Burrow will be no problem at all but most importantly we need to teach you and Ginny to become animagus."

"What, really!" Harry said the excitement evident in his voice.

Sirius chuckled at his godson's enthusiasm. "Of course, you can't be a marauder without being an animagus. How would we name you?"

Harry's excitement seemed to deflate as he thought about it. "It took you guys three years though. I'll be out of school before I can change." moaned Harry.

"I wouldn't worry about that kiddo. You have to remember we started working it out when we were only beginning to learn magic and we didn't have help from someone who knew how." Sirius thought for a few moments, "I think with my help and the notes in the box there if you work hard you could probably do it in a month or so."

"A month! Really?" exclaimed a once again excited Harry.

"Really, maybe even quicker. In the notes you'll find the recipe for an animagus revealer potion. This is the key to the transformation. It's supposed to give you a vision of your animal so you can research it and begin work on changing your individual body parts. That's normally how it's done anyway. With someone like McGonagall help it would take about a year to learn. It took us years of searching and taking notes to learn about the potion and then we had to sneak into the restricted section of the library every night for months to find it and as luck would have it Filch showed up as we were finishing copying it. A little spilled ink and a poorly executed cleaning charm later and our version as it turned out works a little differently. It will actually force you to transform into your animagus form for about five minutes at a time."

Harry listened to the story in awe. "The beauty of the potion changing you is that you can feel how the change works. After taking the potion a few times it's easy to change parts of yourself and eventually do the entire transformation." Sirius laughed at the look on Harry's face. "Hey kid, you're drooling on the notes." joked Sirius.

Harry blushed. "When can we start?"

"Well we can start the potion tonight. It has to simmer for twelve hours before adding the final ingredient. We should wait for Ginny to make sure she wants to do it. We have to brew a separate batch for each of you because the final ingredient is three drops of your blood." said Sirius.

Ginny returned after having dinner with her family and listened with excitement as Harry and Sirius explained about the animagus transformation.

"Of course I want to do it!" Ginny said with a grin.

"Well grab the notes and take me to the potions lab. Let's get started." barked Sirius.

"Sirius, show me Padfoot." Harry said.

The portrait of Sirius transformed back into a large dog that barked loudly and tackled Harry to the ground. After covering his face with a good quantity of licks he ran down the hall to the potions lab.

They had all of the required ingredients on hand and with Sirius help were able to get the potions brewing. Now all they had to do was let it simmer over night, add the final ingredient and begin working on the transformation.

* * *

The next day, Harry and Ginny were studying when Sirius told them it was time to finish the potion. They each added three drops of blood to their potions causing them to turn deep blue in color. 

"Perfect." Sirius said. "Store it in the small test tubes. Each one is a dose. It's pretty tiring at first so you'll probably only be able to do it once a day. After a few day's you should begin to get a feel for it and can begin working on changing individual parts."

With no small amount of excitement Harry and Ginny filled two dozen vials apiece with the viscous blue fluid. After labeling and storing the potion they each took one vial and all three moved into the training room.

Harry conjured a large mirror before moving to the center of the room to take his revealer potion. With a last look at Padfoot and Ginny he downed the potion in one quick swallow.

At first nothing happened, he was pleasantly surprised by the taste though it was sweet with just a hint of lime. After a minute the changes began. It reminded him of the polyjuice potion he had taken in his second year but much more painful. Not only was his skin changing but also his bones and organs. Eventually the pain passed and he opened his eyes to a very different view of the world.

He could see much better and everything seemed taller than it was before. He tried to ask what happened only to let out a loud roar. Realizing it worked he walked to the mirror and found himself face to face with a very large lion. An excited Harry let out another roar and began running around the room laughing when he was joined by a large shaggy dog. They played and wrestled for several minutes before the potion began to wear off. A few minutes later a very tired Harry sat on the floor breathing heavily.

"Harry! Harry! Are you ok?" asked a worried Ginny.

Harry looked up at her with a smile that covered his entire face. "That was brilliant Gin! You have to try it! It does hurt, but I'm fine, just tired."

Ginny sighed in relief and after letting him rest for a few minutes helped him to the side of the room so she could take her turn. She was nervous as she stepped into the middle of the room but she had seen how excited and happy Harry was after his transformation and wasn't about to let this opportunity go so with one last deep breath she downed the potion.

Harry was right, it did hurt. As she looked in the mirror she became even happier than Harry had though she knew Sirius was going to give them no end of grief about this. Looking back in the mirror was a large beautiful lioness. After letting out a loud roar of her own she ran around the room for a few minutes before walking up to a grinning Harry who began stroking her coat.

A couple minutes later the potion wore off and a tired Ginny was sitting in Harry's lap.

"Well, well, well," Sirius began causing Harry and Ginny to groan. "Alright, alright, I'll let it go for now. Hmmm, I wonder what Prongs would say."

"Easy Sirius or you'll find yourself living in a closet." Harry jokingly threatened.

* * *

A week had passed since they began taking the animagus potion. The pain of the transformation had lessened considerably and Harry and Ginny could both change their arms and legs without it now. Sirius was very excited about their progress and expected them to be done in less than a month. 

With Sirius help their dueling was also improving by leaps and bounds. In addition to magical dueling he was teaching them a form of muggle fighting called karate. It wouldn't do to get caught without your wand and not be able to defend yourself he had told them. The muggle training also had the side benefit of increasing their strength, stamina and agility which improved their ability and increased the amount of time they could duel magically.

The other project they had completed was the Marauder's map of the Burrow, brought to you by Messrs. Padfoot, Leo and Miss Lea. The map covered the Weasley's property and the area for 100 meters beyond. They made two copies, one very large one which they hung on the wall in the living room next to the clock, and another smaller one they could carry with them. In the spirit of the Marauders they had used the same passwords that were used on the Hogwarts version.

Harry was leaving the study where he had been working on Parseltongue magic with Ginny when he thought he heard something. Walking towards Ginny's room he saw Mrs. Weasley sitting on Ginny's bed holding her doll of Harry and crying softly.

"Ginny!" he said running back into the study. "You're mums in your room crying."

A look of concern appeared on Ginny's face as she stood up. "Here." said Harry handing her his invisibility cloak. "Cast a silencing charm on yourself and sneak past her in this."

Ginny did as she was told and snuck past her mum and down the hall to the bathroom. After quietly closing the door behind her she drew her wand and tapped her ring twice appearing in the apartment next to Harry. She handed him the cloak and quickly tapped her ring three times to return to the bathroom. Ginny flushed the toilet before leaving and made her way back to her bedroom.

Entering her bedroom she noticed Harry standing in the apartment door just inside the Fidilius Charm. He looked concerned and upset and his hands and feet kept moving slightly as if he was trying to talk himself into leaving the safety of the apartment and comforting her. Ginny quickly made eye contact and shook her head no before moving to sit on the bed next to her mother.

"Are you ok mum?" asked Ginny as she put one arm around her.

"Oh, Ginny dear, I'm sorry I should be the one comforting you and here I am getting all emotional." she blubbered through the tears. "I try not too but I guess I'm just worried about Harry. I love him as much as the rest of you and just hope he's alright."

"He's alright mum. I can't say how I know really, but I'm positive he's alright." said Ginny.

"I'm sure he is too dear but I still miss him." Molly's gaze returned to the doll she was holding. "I remember when I made this for you're birthday." she began to reminisce.

'Oh god', thought Ginny, 'this isn't going to be good.'

"I'll never forget when you were five years old", Ginny's face took on a look of horror as she noticed Harry was still standing in the doorway listening intently, "and decided to marry him. I've still got the invitations you gave me, your father and all you're brothers."

'Please god, please make her stop before I die of embarrassment.' a now bright red Ginny thought.

"It was such a beautiful ceremony in the garden with your father presiding and me as your flower girl."

Ginny's head was now in her hands unable to face Harry. 'Fine, if you're not going to make her stop then please strike me down now.'

"You looked so cute in that white dress that was several sizes to big and the towel you were using as a veil."

A groan escaped from Ginny's mouth as her thoughts continued. 'That's it. It's all over. Harry's going to laugh at me and then decide he was better off at the Dursley's.'

"You're father and I thought it was so sweet the way you demanded we take you and Harry to the muggle park in Ottery St. Catchpole for your honeymoon."

'God and I thought the butter dish and singing valentine were embarrassing.' Ginny's thought's continued.

Molly handed the doll to Ginny and stood up heading for the door.

'Thank god.' thought Ginny, 'At least it can't get any worse.'

Stopping at the door she turned back to her daughter. "Once Harry returns you'll have to let me know which one of them is a better kisser." she said with a grin and a wink before leaving.

A final thought went through Ginny's mind as she groaned and fell back on her bed. 'I stand corrected.'

Ginny was trying to decide whether to run away or run away when she risked a peek at Harry. She was surprised when far from being doubled over in laughter he was looking at her with pure love written all over his face.

"Come here Gin." Harry said, unable to leave the doorway without casting a long series of spells on himself. "Please." he added softly when she didn't move.

Taking a deep breath she stood up and joined him in the doorway studiously examining the floor the entire time. She felt Harry's finger lifting up her chin silently asking her to look at him and as their eyes met he pulled her into the most emotion filled kiss she had ever received.

They separated after a few minutes and Ginny buried her head in his chest. "I'm sooooo embarrassed."

Harry smiled and kissed the top of her head. "You don't have to be, that's the sweetest story I've ever heard and I'm glad I did even if I wasn't meant too. I love hearing stories from when you were little."

Ginny hugged Harry tighter and felt him return it. "I love you Harry."

"I love you to Gin."

As they walked back into the apartment hand in hand Ginny looked up at Harry. "Please don't tell Sirius."

Harry thought for a moment before answering. "Depends, which one of us is the better kisser."

Ginny tapped her chin with her finger and seemed to mull it over for far longer than Harry thought was necessary. "I don't know I haven't kissed him in a long time. Can I get back to you on that?"

Harry just stood in the hall chuckling and shaking his head as a giggling Ginny ran off down the hall.

* * *

The weeks passed as Sirius helped Harry and Ginny train. The library they had built from the Black and Potter vaults contained a wealth of rare and powerful magic. 

They spent a lot of time working with the ministry controlled books they purchased in Knockturn Alley. Sirius had been delighted to hear the tale of Harry and Ginny's trip to one of the darker areas of the wizarding world. These books were especially useful for learning how to travel magically. While they could learn to apperate and make port keys from a number of books these taught them how to be undetectable to the ministry when they used these skills.

The invisible book of invisibility had turned out to be another good find. They now knew how invisibility cloaks worked and could see through them and many other kinds of invisibility. They also learned several ways to become invisible without a cloak. The most advanced methods and hardest to detect were variations of apparition and transfiguration. After careful consideration they had decided to learn both methods even though they were difficult because while the apparition method worked better and was harder to detect it couldn't be used when an anti-apparition ward was in place.

The library was filled with interesting spells that would be great in a dual but Harry and Ginny spent the most time learning the Parseltongue magic. These were the spells that were going to get them through a fight with Death Eaters and Voldemort. Every spell in both books was incredibly powerful even the simplest stunning spell was designed to be used on a group. The power was such that if used on an individual it could easily stop all body functions and kill them. They were surprised as they studied the two books to find that half of the spells were not dark at all or only borderline so but they also knew just because the spells were cast with Parseltongue the ministry and most all other witches and wizards would consider them dark.

One of the crowning achievements of their training as far as Harry and Ginny were concerned was the completion of their animagus studies. It was near the end of July when they gained complete control over the transformation which is why Harry woke the morning of his birthday being attacked by a large lioness.

"Geoff Gin." Harry grumbled still half asleep though she could see the laughter in his eyes.

Harry fought back though he was no match for her strength when she was in her animagus form. That changed when he did and he chased her all through the apartment before they changed back and collapsed on the couch panting from the exertion and laughing.

"Happy Birthday Harry.", Ginny said planting a kiss on his cheek. "Get cleaned up. I'll make you breakfast and then me and Sirius have a present for you."

Harry took a shower and got dressed finally joining Ginny in the kitchen for breakfast. Ginny had gone all out for his birthday and he was greeted with every kind of breakfast food imaginable. After eating as much as he could swallow safely Ginny cleaned up the mess and they went into the study where Sirius was.

"Happy Birthday kiddo." said Sirius.

Harry grinned. "Thanks Sirius."

"Wow, sixteen years old. I guess that means it's time I gave you 'the talk'." Sirius said with an evil grin.

Harry's eyes were wide open and tinged with a bit of fear as a blush crept up on his face. Sirius and Ginny couldn't contain themselves any longer and broke down into gales of laughter earning a scowl from Harry.

"I'm sorry Leo, I couldn't resist." chuckled Sirius. "Ginny, do you have his present?"

Ginny stepped forward now seeming a bit nervous and handed Harry a small present. "Here Harry. We made this for you, I hope you like it."

Harry accepted it with a smile and opened it to find a vile of potion that continually shifted through every color in the spectrum. "Wow, what does it do?"

"That my dear godson is a secret Black Family recipe. If we made it correctly and I'm positive we did by the way the colors are moving it will fix your eye sight."

He was stunned. "Really? I asked Madam Pomphrey and she said there was no magical cure."

"All of the old families have potions and spells they keep secret wanting to keep an edge over the others. This is one of the Black's secrets." Sirius said.

"I don't know what to say. Thank you. Thank you both." Harry said giving them each a heartfelt smile.

"Well, do you want to try it?" Ginny asked.

"Yes. Do I just drink it?"

"Yup," Sirius said, "You might want to sit down though. You'll loose your sight as the potion starts to work but there won't be any pain it deadens all your nerves first. Takes about ten minutes."

Harry nodded and after sitting at his desk swallowed the multicolored concoction. Nothing happened for a moment and then his whole body went numb. A moment later everything went black and his eye's felt like they were bubbling and changing. Sirius had told him what to expect but the fear of what was happening must have shown on his face because when the feeling in his body and his eyesight returned Ginny was kneeling next to him holding his hand she had also removed his glasses which were now sitting on the desk in front of him.

"Ok Harry?" said a worried Ginny.

"Yes, better than ok, I've never been able to see this well." replied an amazed Harry. He hadn't realized how bad his eyesight was even with his old glasses.

"Thanks Gin." He said giving her a quick kiss. "Thank you too Sirius."

"What, no kiss for me?" Sirius said with amusement.

After moving Sirius portrait into the living room the three enjoyed a lazy day watching movies and eating an incredible chocolate cake Ginny had made for Harry's birthday.

* * *

-

* * *

Review Responses 

Treck – Thanks.

DestinyFate – Thanks, I'll try.

Potter Reader – Smile. I'm sure he would but I didn't write it. Thanks.

edge11 – Thank you.

Wytil – All good points and insightful questions. However this is a PG fic which I've rated PG-13 to be safe due to some swearing and light innuendo so I won't be addressing those issues in the fic. Additional forms would be fun but no they won't be checking. The animagus forms are really secondary to the story. Thanks for the review.

Gohan00 – Thank you, I will.

kungzoune – Smile. Thanks, I'm glad you like it. You'll get to see his reaction soon, though not at school. Yes, everyone will find out in the end.

Night-Owl123 – Will do.

typicaltuseday – Thanks, I'm glad and I will.

hrtbreaker – Thanks. Yes, things start moving quickly in the next chapter. Will do.


	7. Scabbers

**Chapter 7 – Scabbers**

The week after Harry's birthday was much like the week before with the exception that Harry's scar had started to prickle and tingle at odd moments. The day Harry and Ginny met Moody and Tonks at Diagon Alley Moody had mentioned Voldemort had been injured when he possessed Harry at the Ministry. He knew his scar acting up meant that Voldemort had regained much or all of his strength but his Occulmency shields were very strong now so the pain was minimal.

Ginny looked up from the Parseltongue book she was studying to see Harry rubbing his forehead. "Are you ok Harry?"

"I'm fine, it's just annoying." he said smiling.

"Ok." she said walking around the desk to him. "Look at what I found. It's a spell for creating stone golems within the earth."

Ginny sat the in front of him pointing out the spell she had been reading about.

"Guardian Protectors, Warriors of the Earth." he began reading.

Ginny gave him a few minutes to read about the spell before beginning. "I think we should use it here. If any Death Eaters show up we could let them do most of the fighting."

Harry nodded liking the idea very much. "That's a good idea Gin. It looks like it takes quite a bit of magic to create one. We can probably make one or two apiece each day if we could make 20-30 and key them to both of us I think we'd be in pretty good shape. What do you think Sirius?"

"I think it sounds like a great idea. How will you hide them though? I don't think you want anyone to see them standing around. Kind of defeats the purpose if the Death Munchers know about them."

"That's not a problem. The spell creates them 'of the earth' so we can leave them in the ground until we need to activate them." Ginny said.

"Cool. You'll want to think about where you place them. I'd create small groups and spread the groups around. We should be able to add them to the map."

With everyone in agreement Harry and Ginny became invisible and went outside to begin creating the automatons.

Kneeling on the ground Harry placed the tip of his wand one inch into the soil and began chanting in Parseltongue. After a couple minutes the ground began to glow red around his wand slowly spreading to the neighboring soil until the outline of a large human form could be seen within the glow. The image became clearer and brighter suddenly changing to white after ten minutes. When the image changed Harry and Ginny both placed a hand on the glowing form and Harry said a final spell keying them to their new creation and setting the activation spell.

Complete Harry removed his wand from the ground and sat back letting out a deep breath. "I think one apiece is going to be enough, that's tiring."

Ginny agreed and began creating another one. Once complete the two tired teens went back to the apartment.

* * *

"Ahhhhh, blast!" grunted Severus Snape grasping his left forearm as he felt the dark mark burn. 

Snape quickly made his way to the headmaster's office to notify him of his impending meeting with the Dark Lord.

"Albus, I've been summoned." Snape said as he barged in to Dumbledore's office.

"Very well Severus, remember what we talked about. Only discuss Harry's current status if you believe he knows or if you need to secure your position." said Albus examining his spy over his half moon spectacles.

"Of course Albus, though I would be surprised if he is still unaware the brat has disappeared."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "Still do your best to hide this information. The longer we can keep this secret, the better. Please report to me when you return."

Severus nodded and left the office heading for Hogsmeade. Once clear of the wards he made sure his Occulmency shields were at full strength and disapperated appearing in front of Voldemort and his inner circle moments later. He quickly kneeled, kissing the hem of the Dark Lord's robes before taking his place in the circle.

"My loyal Death Eaters." Voldemort hissed as he scanned the circle. Though he did not show it Severus became nervous as he noticed Voldemort pause at him briefly before continuing on.

"I have brought you here this evening to discuss Harry Potter."

'He knows. And he suspects I have kept the information from him.' Stepping forward Severus bowed. "My Lord, I have information concerning Potter."

Voldemort's gaze fell on Snape causing shivers to go down the spy's spine. "I see. And what is this information Severus."

Swallowing heavily he spoke. "Dumbledore approached me after lunch today. He wished me to brew a scrying potion. When I inquired as to its use he indicated the Potter boy had run away and he needed to locate him before you."

"What else did he tell you Severus?"

"Only that the boy went missing approximately two weeks into the summer and that as of yet Dumbledore and his Order have been unable to locate him." said Severus.

As Severus finished he felt the Dark Lord enter his mind and fed him a carefully constructed memory of the conversation he had just described. As the probe finished Severus collapsed to the ground breathing heavily.

"Very well." hissed the Dark Lord. Looking at the rest of his inner circle he continued. "It is as Severus has said. Potter has run away and is now on his own. This opportunity must not be allowed to pass. I want everyone looking for the boy. Inform me immediately if you find anything. Severus, inquire within Dumbledore's Order and find out what they know. Oh and Severus you are my spy within the Order you should have obtained this information sooner. Crucio!"

* * *

Ginny woke to Harry's screams and ran to his bedside. She noticed Padfoot had also come in. Harry was drenched in sweat and his scar was red and inflamed. She sat next to him and held his shoulders trying to stop him from thrashing about. 

"Harry! Harry! Wake up!" Shaking him gently Ginny was eventually able to wake Harry.

He looked frantically around the room before beginning to calm down once he realized where he was.

"Shhhh, Harry it's ok, I'm here. You're safe." Ginny said as she held him and stroked his hair.

"Death Eater meeting. Voldemort. Crucio. Snape." Harry pieced together.

She could see him shaking and understood. "I'll be right back." Going down the hall to the potions lab she took a red vile of pain relieving potion and a blue vile of dreamless sleep potion.

Returning to Harry she gave him the red vial setting the blue on the nightstand. The tremors stopped and Harry visibly relaxed letting out a long breath.

"Thanks Gin."

"It's ok Harry. Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked.

Harry nodded and spent a moment organizing his thoughts before beginning. "It was a Death Eater meeting, the inner circle I think. Snape was there. Voldemort knows I'm missing. He's having everyone look for me. He cursed Snape for not telling him about me sooner."

Ginny gasped in shock. "Snape's the one who told him?" she asked angrily.

"Yes, but Voldemort already knew. I think Snape realized that and told him to protect his position. He told him he only found out from Dumbledore this afternoon."

"Oh, ok then." said a much calmer Ginny. She then uncorked the blue vial of liquid she had brought him. "Drink this Harry it's for a dreamless sleep."

Harry nodded and swallowed the potion in one gulp. Ginny turned to leave when she felt Harry grab her hand. "Stay, please, just until I fall asleep."

"Alright Harry." Climbing into bed she wrapped her arms around him listening to his breathing as it became slower and slower.

Padfoot watched smiling as the pair fell asleep in each others arms. When they were both out he went to the living room and stared at the map of the Burrow and the surrounding area thinking about the meeting Harry had just seen.

* * *

Ginny woke feeling warm and safe after one of the best night's sleep she could remember having in a long time. As she began to stretch she felt someone next to her and remembered the night before. Opening her eyes slowly she looked up to see the piercing green eyes of her boyfriend smiling back at her. 

"Morning Gin." Harry said placing a light kiss on her forehead.

"Morning." she replied sleepily. Realizing fully where she was she tried to pull away embarrassed at having fell asleep in Harry's bed. "Harry! I'm sorry, I guess I fell asleep."

"It's ok Gin. Actually I don't think I've slept that good in a long time. Thanks for staying with me."

Ginny relaxed at his words and snuggled closer to him. They lay together sharing each others comfort and warmth for several minutes before Harry spoke. "As much as I hate to we should probably get up. You'll need to go downstairs for breakfast soon."

Groaning at the thought of leaving the comfort she was now enjoying she nodded and left him for the bathroom. Twenty minutes later a much more awake and dressed Ginny left the apartment to have breakfast with her parents and brothers.

After taking a shower Harry dressed and made himself some breakfast before returning to the study to resume working on Parseltongue Battle Magic. He'd only been reading for a few minutes when Padfoot came bounding in the room and tackled Harry to the floor sending and angrily hissing Parseltongue book flying.

"Hey!" laughed Harry. Padfoot always managed to make Harry smile. "Padfoot, show me Sirius."

A picture of Sirius grinning and laughing replaced the large dog. "Sorry kiddo. I couldn't resist. Good morning by the way."

"Good morning to you too." said Harry retrieving his book.

The book had fallen open to a section near the rear and the title caught Harry's eye as he picked it up. 'Soul Magic: Destruction, Elimination, Removal and Encapsulation'.

Harry let out a gasp which got Sirius attention. "What is it Harry?"

A brief look of triumph passed across Sirius face as Harry read the title. He thought for several minutes, the plan he had begun working on the night before developing further. "Why don't you go to the practice room and begin learning those spells. You'll have to be really careful. I'll keep an eye out for Ginny and make sure she doesn't go back there."

"Alright." Was the simple reply as Harry left for the practice room.

Ginny returned a short while later. "Ginny, Harry's learning some soul magic in the practice room. I think you should stay away from there while he's working on it, we wouldn't want any accidents to happen."

"Soul magic?" Ginny asked.

Sirius explained the events of the morning eliciting a gasp from Ginny as she realized the potential of these spells.

"I have an idea I started working on after Harry's dream last night," said Sirius, "that I'll need your help with."

"Sure what do you need?"

"I need you to search the 'Parseltongue: Protection Spells and Wards' book for the strongest wards you can find. It has to prevent all forms of magical travel and a physical barrier would be nice too."

Ginny began searching through the book and making notes on different wards while Sirius returned to his planning.

* * *

Harry sat in the middle of the training room working through the Parseltongue books section on soul magic. He was surprised at the number of spells and how many ways there were to manipulate souls. 

He found a spell to encase a soul within an inanimate object and briefly entertained the idea of capturing Voldemort inside a statue of some sort but rejected that idea quickly. 'No,' he thought, 'in the wrong hands the results could be worse than the current Voldemort.'

Soul removal turned out to be an interesting section. It mainly dealt with Dementors. It explained what they were and how they came to be. The book explained how they perform the kiss and listed spells to replicate the effects. But the most exciting spell listed in the section was for destroying Dementors. 'I'll have to show this one to Ginny.' Harry thought with a smile.

Continuing through the chapter he finally found what he was looking for in a section on banishment.

_Soul Expulsion_

_Soul Expulsion is not so much a spell but a plea by the castor made to the queen of the realm of the dead to recall a soul to that plane. The plea is judged and if found to have merit the soul is recalled. A recall to the death realm is binding to the effected soul unable to be overcome by any manner of binding, enchantments, immortality rights or other magic's performed on the targeted soul. Should the plea be judged to have no merit and be instead based on evil intent the castors soul shall be recalled._

The passage went on to describe the wand movements and incantation. Harry shivered at the implications of a spell of this nature and not for the first time since he began reading this section of the book wondered if he would be able to cast a spell like this, even if it was Voldemort he would be casting it on.

* * *

The middle of August came and went. Harry and Ginny were in the study reading when Padfoot ran in barking excitedly. Harry said the phrase and Sirius portrait was sitting in front of them. 

"Harry, look at the map quick." Sirius barked.

Harry opened the smaller version of the map of the Burrow and began examining it.

"Look at the tree line around the quidditch paddock." said Sirius.

Focusing on this area it didn't take long to see what had Sirius so worked up. "Wormtail." Harry growled.

"What?" Ginny said, "Scabbers?"

Harry nodded and drawing their wands Harry and Ginny headed to the door only to be stopped by Sirius.

"Wait! Before you go out there I have an idea I think you might want to hear." Sirius said in an even tone.

Harry and Ginny kept sharing looks as Sirius explained what he had in mind. They were both nervous it was a bold plan but seemed to have a very good chance of success. Finally they both agreed and Harry fetched his invisibility cloak.

* * *

Wormtail was tired. He was currently in his rat animagus form working his way along a tree line towards the Weasley's home the Burrow where he had lived as a pet for much of his life. Looking ahead he saw the petite form of the youngest Weasley slowly walking his direction talking to no one. 

"Ginny." Harry whispered from under his father's invisibility cloak where he was looking at the map. "He's just up ahead in the brush under that large oak tree."

Ginny gave no indication she had heard him and kept walking as she heard Harry fold up the map and put it away. As they neared the tree she continued the conversation.

"I'm glad you could come see me today Harry, even if it's only for a few minutes." she said.

'What is that girl talking about?' thought Wormtail who was immediately shocked as he heard Harry respond from seemingly nowhere.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world Gin. I'll be glad when school starts and we can hang out without all this sneaking around again."

"Me to Harry. But at least Wednesday everyone will be leaving for a couple days and you can stay here with me while they're gone." said Ginny giving a sweet smile to the space next to her.

Wormtail let out a small squeak as Harry's head appeared from under the cloak next to Ginny.

"I can't wait either." he said before giving her a gentle kiss.

Harry raised his hood once again disappearing. "I'll be over right after lunch on Wednesday. Come on, I'll walk you back to the house, I need to get going."

Wormtail grinned to himself as he watched Ginny take hold of an invisible hand walking towards the Burrow. 'My master will be pleased.'

* * *

Harry woke covered in sweat his scar in pain after another nightmare featuring Voldemort. As he looked around he found a concerned Ginny sitting on the bed next to him and Padfoot on his other side. 

"Harry?" Ginny said softly handing him a vial of red potion.

Swallowing the potion he immediately felt better and gave her a brief smile of thanks. "Inner circle meeting." said Harry, "Looks like he bought it, they're coming Wednesday at three o'clock. He's bringing everyone."

Ginny and Sirius nodded with looks of grim determination on their faces.

"That gives us two days." said Ginny. "I think we should meet with Dumbledore today."

Harry and Sirius nodded. As Sirius left the room Ginny handed Harry some dreamless sleep potion and crawled into bed next to him. Giving her a heart warming smile he downed the potion and fell asleep next to her.

Ginny watched Harry sleep for a long time worried about what was to come and praying everything would be ok before she finally fell asleep herself.

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks was sitting in her office as a familiar white owl flew in depositing a letter on her desk before leaving, another letter still attached to her leg. 

Recognizing the messy scrawl she opened the letter grinning at its contents. As soon as she finished she destroyed the letter and made her way to her boss's office.

"Shacklebolt, got a minute?" she said as she entered.

"Sure Tonks, what's up?"

"Something's come up. I need to take a couple days off."

"Alright, care to tell me about it?" asked Kingsley.

"Sorry, personal. I'll be back Wednesday though."

Kingsley nodded his approval and Tonks left.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office contemplating the mystery that was Harry when Hedwig flew in his window with an envelope attached. He quickly removed and opened it hoping it was from the young man that had been causing him to worry so much this summer. 

_Professor Dumbledore,_

_It's been a long summer and I would like to first apologize for everything that has happened and any worry my actions may have caused you but I hope you understand why things happened the way they did._

_It is my sincerest hope that we can rebuild the trust we once shared. It is with this hope that I would like to meet with you. Much has happened and is happening and it is important that we talk._

_I will be in a private room in the Leaky Cauldron at noon today for lunch. Please join me. Please come alone. Know that at the conclusion of our meeting I will be returning to my current living arrangements. Any attempts to prevent my leaving or to place tracking charms of any kind on my person or that of my companions will utterly destroy any chance of rebuilding the relationship we once shared._

_This is your last chance, I hope you take it._

_Harry_

Dumbledore read the letter several times not sure whether to be happy or sad at its contents. Finally a smile broke out on his face as he realized he was being given another chance to make things right with Harry and he would not waste it. Looking at his clock he found he had five minutes until his meeting. Remembering the promises he had made to himself concerning Harry when he had disappeared he stepped in his fireplace to go to the Leaky Cauldron.

* * *

Harry and Ginny arrived at the Leaky Cauldron in their concealment cloaks a half hour early for their meeting and requested a private room. Upon entering the room they immediately began their scans for eavesdropping spells and warded the room for security. 

Once finished Harry removed a small dog from his pocket and set it on the floor watching as it grew into Padfoot. They then ordered lunch for three and waited for Dumbledore's arrival. A few minutes later he walked in the room.

"Harry?" the headmaster asked.

Harry lowered his hood and looked up at the headmaster. "Hello Professor."

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling like Harry had never seen them twinkle before. "I can't begin to tell you how good it is to see you again. Might I ask as to the identity of your companion?"

Harry smirked and looked at Ginny. With a nod from Harry she lowered her hood.

A look of astonishment passed across the old mans face for only a second but Harry caught it and almost laughed out loud.

"Miss Weasley. I must say I am surprised to see you here, though it is a pleasant surprise to be sure." he said smiling.

"Headmaster." she responded simply.

Dumbledore was surprised to find her involved with Harry's disappearance and equally surprised at her lack of emotion in her response to him. He supposed it made sense though. He knew of her feelings concerning Harry and had no doubt's that she would be firmly entrenched on his side. Continuing on he noticed a large dog on Harry's other side. A dog that looked familiar.

Seeing Dumbledore's gaze fall on Padfoot Harry spoke up this time letting a chuckle slip as the shock registered on the headmasters face a second time. "This is Padfoot."

Unable to hide his shock he pointed at the smirking dog. "It can't be…Is that...?" Albus asked.

It took Harry a moment to stop laughing before he could respond. "No, not exactly, Padfoot, show me Sirius."

Dumbledore's smile returned along with his twinkle as the portrait of Sirius appeared. "Ahh, I see. What a wonderful use of charms and transfiguration. Hello Sirius, it's good to see you."

"Hello Professor. Good one by the way Harry, I don't think I've ever seen him surprised before and you got him twice in a row!" laughed the portrait of Sirius.

Everyone shared a laugh and enjoyed a casual lunch before Harry decided it was time to get down to business.

"First Professor I need to ask if anyone knows you're here and if you can keep this meeting and everything we discuss in it to yourself." started Harry.

"No, no one knows I am here with you and yes I will keep this meeting and anything you tell me today in confidence. I would like to apologize for the past mistakes I have made time and time again and thank you for giving an old man another chance. I promised myself after I read your letter at the start of the summer that I would do everything I could to regain your trust and I promise you today that I'll help you in any way that I can."

Harry smiled at his Headmaster. "Thank you Professor. I'm glad you said that though you might be a bit worried and upset when you find out what you just promised to do."

A concerned look registered on Dumbledore's face as he listened to Harry. "What are you planning Harry?"

Taking a deep breath Harry met his eyes and told him. "I'm planning on ending the war." Harry paused taking in the look of curiosity on Dumbledore's face before he continued. "In two days."

If the situation hadn't been so grave Harry, Ginny and Sirius would have been laughing at the barrage of looks and emotions flickering across the Professors face. Several minutes passed before he was able to speak.

"Harry, I don't understand. Are you saying you know how to kill Voldemort?" asked a hopeful Dumbledore.

"Yes. We set everything in motion yesterday. If everything goes according to plan Voldemort and all his Death Eaters will be taken care of Wednesday afternoon." said Harry.

"And if everything doesn't go according to plan?"

Harry looked at Dumbledore with a sad smile. "Then most of the Death Eaters will have been dealt with and it will fall to you and the Order to finish the job." Ginny reached under the table taking Harry's hand in hers with tears shining in her eyes.

"Harry, I can't kill Voldemort, he is bound by the prophecy." Dumbledore tried to point out.

"Professor, if the plan doesn't work the prophecy will have been fulfilled and he will no longer be bound by it." Dumbledore started to object and Harry waved him off. "Please Professor. I can't set back and watch him continue to torture and kill people when I have a chance to stop him. I have every confidence this will work and it is going to happen whether you want it too or not. I would just really like you to be there in case things don't work out. He needs to be destroyed one way or another."

Dumbledore wanted to argue but finally sighed accepting the truth in Harry's words. "Alright Harry. Why don't you tell me what you have in mind?"

"It's simple really. We're luring Voldemort to the Burrow Wednesday afternoon with the knowledge that I will be there alone with Ginny." said Harry.

"And you would like the Order and me to setup an ambush?" Albus stated.

"No." replied Harry getting another curious look. "We've already worked all of that out, what I need you to do is to remove the Weasley's from the Burrow Wednesday morning. Have the twin's close the shop and Mr. Weasley take a couple days off from work. They should pack for a two day trip and you should give them a port key to Grimmauld Place. Until they arrive there they should think they're going on a trip to Romania or something."

Dumbledore nodded very curious about what the young man had planned.

"It's very important that you keep them there." Pulling out a Marauder's Map of the Burrow Harry spread it out on the table. "Voldemort and his Death Eaters will be arriving at three o'clock. I need you and the entire Order to arrive here" Harry said indicating a spot on the edge of the map, "at three thirty. Do not be early."

"And what will you be doing Harry?" asked the Professor.

Harry just smiled. "Don't worry about that. I would recommend you keep your spy home that day though."

Dumbledore nodded in acceptance though he didn't look entirely happy about the lack of information. "Very well Harry. At three thirty I will arrive with the Order at the apparition coordinates you have indicated. I will also obtain what help I can from the Aurors. At what point should we step in?"

"You'll know if it comes to that. Until then you won't be able to." Harry said mysteriously.

The Headmaster cast a sad smile sorry that the times had come to this. After a round of farewells he left followed shortly by Harry, Ginny and Padfoot's return to the Burrow.

_

* * *

Dear Arthur and Molly, _

_I am sorry to ask this of you on such short notice but I would ask you to take a trip to Romania for the Order. Charlie will fill you in when you get there. Please take along the twins as their unique talents may be useful as well as Ronald and Ginevra as I'm sure they would enjoy seeing their older brother._

_This letter is a port key that will activate at 9:00 AM on Wednesday morning. Pack for a two day trip._

_Thank you for your help with this matter,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Dinner at the Burrow was filled with talk of seeing Charlie and dragons after Arthur and Molly showed the letter to their children. The twins wondered what Dumbledore thought they could help with, Ron was looking forward to seeing Charlie but not sure if he really wanted to get close to any dragons and Ginny seemed to bubble with excitement as they spoke of the trip.

After dinner Ginny returned to the apartment finding Harry in the study.

"Well, everyone is excited about Romania." she said. "Dad's going to take off work when he goes in tomorrow and the twins are closing the shop for Wednesday and Thursday."

Harry sighed. "I hope their not to upset when they find out what's really happening."

"Oh, they will be." Ginny said. "But it'll be worth it. The world will be a different place in two days, a better place."

"I hope so Gin." Harry said giving her a hug.

After returning his hug for a few minutes she closed the book he had been studying and pulled him into the living room.

"Come on Harry you've studied enough for one day. Let's watch a movie and forget about things for awhile."

Harry smiled joining her on the couch thinking that was a pretty good idea.

* * *

Tuesday passed far too quickly as far as Harry was concerned. Mr. Weasley took the rest of the week off for a 'holiday' and the twins posted signs in the windows of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes letting the public know the shop would be closed for the next two days. 

After dinner Molly chased everyone off to their rooms insisting they pack to be ready for their trip the following morning.

As the hour grew late Ginny climbed into bed with Harry holding him tightly hoping it wouldn't be the last night she would get to spend with him.

"Don't worry Gin, it'll be ok." Harry whispered stroking her hair as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

-

* * *

Review Responses

Myssi Ford - Sorry, I did it so that you would have to sign on and add me to your favorites! Evil Grin! Actually I'm going to turn them on when I post the last chapter. Thanks, I'm glad you like it. I have to admit it came out a lot better than I thought it would.

Shannon Snape – Thanks.

Treck – Ha, nice one. Tell you what, since I don't want that 'pasty little bastards' (to borrow a reference from 'Rorschach's Blot') kid I'll wait until tomorrow morning. But since that was so funny I'll post both chapters. (The last ones only 2k anyway)

redhdstylist – That's actually a good idea, why did you wait until I was done and posting this instead of mentioning it while I was writing it seeing as you're my wife. By the way everyone, redhdstylist won't admit she likes this story but she demanded the last two chapters from me after reading chp. 7.

Night-Owl123 – I'll post the last two in the morning, thank Treck.

Wytil – Damn straight, bring a sponge! There's always a twist though. ;)

HarrySlytherinson – They'll see each other again.

hrtbreaker – Yes, two more chapters. 45K+ in 9 chapters total. I'll post the remainder with these responses…right now as a matter of fact!

Missgiggles12087 – Thank you.

Ima Quidditch Fan – Great, I'm glad you like it. On the edge huh? Makes me want to put off posting for a couple days… (just kidding)

dweem-angel – Smile. Thank you, Sirius came out really good, I like writing him. Right away.

evon2evon – Thank you, smile. Death and destruction coming to a fic near you. You'll see.

Shadowed Rains – Thanks, it's come out a lot better than I expected it too. I like a good super-Harry fic but decided not to go that route here. Harry doesn't need to be all powerful with a Marauder helping to plan! Thanks, the door's been very popular. Giddy? Read the Ima Quidditch Fan response above. ;)

chotic pinc chocobo – Will do. Thanks, he was fun to write.

SeekerTLK – Thanks. And I agree, she still has a book to release and another to write so why would she? Thanks a lot, I'm glad you like it.

Volans - (aka me or the author) Thank you all so much for all your wonderful reviews. I was particularly happy with the way the story turned out but never expected it to get the kind of response it has. You've all made me very glad I finally decided to post it. I added about 500 words to the last chapter due to several requests I was seeing, I hope everyone likes it. Thanks again for reading, reviewing and encouraging me.


	8. The Battle of the Burrow

**Chapter 8 – The Battle of the Burrow**

Ginny woke Wednesday morning as the light coming in the window of her room hit her in the face.

"Bloody Hell." she grumbled rubbing her eyes, "I should have closed the shades."

Covering her head with the pillow she tried to go back to sleep until Molly began pounding on her door.

"Ginny it's time to get up dear. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

She lay confused for a few moments before everything clicked and she answered. "Ok mum, I'll be right down."

Gathering a change of clothes she made her way down the hall to the bathroom for a quick shower then downstairs to join her sleepy brothers for breakfast.

Tripping as she sat down her hand landed on the edge of a bowl of porridge sending it flying all over Ron.

"Bugger. Ginny!" yelled her brother.

"Sorry Ron." she sheepishly replied.

"Watch your language Ronald." Molly said as she cleaned up the mess and her youngest son with the wave of her wand.

"Sorry mum."

After finishing breakfast the Weasley's went in the living room to wait for the appointed time to arrive. As 9:00 AM rolled around everyone grabbed hold of the letter and after a quick tug behind the naval were surprised to find themselves not in Romania but in the entrance hall at Grimmauld Place.

Dumbledore was waiting to greet the confused family. "Glad you could all make it. I apologize for the deception but I'm afraid it was necessary."

"What it the world is going on Albus?" asked Molly.

"Please don't worry, all will be explained this afternoon. For now however I must ask you all to stay here. Please place your things in one of the bedrooms and make yourselves at home. I have a few things to take care of but will return shortly after lunch."

Dumbledore started to leave but was stopped by Ginny. "Professor, could I talk to you for a moment?" she asked.

"Of course my dear, why don't we step in here?" He said indicating a sitting room off the main hall.

After entering the room Dumbledore cast a complex series of privacy charms to be sure they would not be overheard.

"Is everything alright Miss Weasley?"

"Yes, everything's fine. Harry just wanted me to share something with you as soon as I could."

Dumbledore nodded waiting to hear what she had to say. He was surprised when Ginny's face began to shift and he found himself looking at the familiar face of Nymphadora Tonks instead of the youngest Weasley.

"Miss Tonks, I assume there is a good reason for your impersonating Miss Weasley?"

"I'm sure there is Professor, but I don't know what it is." she said.

Dumbledore looked at Tonks shrewdly. "I get the distinct impression you have known about Mr. Potter's whereabouts for quite awhile."

"I'm sorry Professor. I wanted to say something but promised him I wouldn't. I'd be glad to explain more later when we have the time."

"Our young Mr. Potter is full of surprises it would seem." he said smiling. "Thank you for sharing this with me, perhaps you should return to the others now."

Returning to the form of Ginny Weasley, Tonks waited for Dumbledore to remove the privacy charms before leaving the room.

* * *

Dumbledore sat behind his desk after returning from Grimmauld Place. He had summoned Severus Snape to his office and was waiting for his arrival. 

"Headmaster, you wished to see me?" Severus said as he entered the office.

"Yes, please have a seat. Lemon drop?"

Severus took the proffered seat declining the sweet with a shake of his head as he sat down and waited for Dumbledore to continue.

After looking at his potions master for a minute hoping that his spying days were now over Dumbledore began. "This afternoon you will most likely be summoned to a meeting by Voldemort. You must not go. Instead I would ask that you go to Grimmauld Place where the Weasley's currently reside."

"Why?" asked Severus, "What do you know?"

"I'm not at liberty to say at this time but it is extremely important that you follow my instructions. All will be explained this afternoon." Albus said all traces of humor gone from his face and voice.

"As you wish Headmaster, though I would like to know why you would put my position within the Dark Lord's ranks at risk." Said the spy not looking forward to the punishment he would receive from Voldemort for not responding to a summons.

"As I have said all will be revealed this afternoon. Until then please just do as I ask. That will be all Severus."

Making a short bow in acceptance Severus left the office wondering what the venerable professor was up to.

* * *

Harry and Ginny lay in bed a long time enjoying waking in each others arms and wishing they could stay there rather than face the day they knew was waiting for them. Reluctantly they finally got up showering and dressing for what was to come. They made breakfast and quietly ate watching the dots representing the occupants of the Burrow go about their day on the map not knowing what was about to happen. 

As they watched the map they noticed Wormtail sneaking about the Burrow in his animagus form, keeping tabs on the actions of the Weasley family. At nine o'clock the Weasley's and Tonks disguised as Ginny disappeared from the map. Harry and Ginny continued to watch as Wormtail wandered all around the Burrow looking for any signs that someone was still there. He then returned to the living room apparently to wait for Ginny and Harry's return.

The pair ate lunch silently neither knowing what to say. As they were finishing Padfoot came in and sat on the floor in front of them.

"Padfoot, show me Sirius." said Harry.

"Hey kiddo, Ginny, you two ready for this?" the portrait asked.

Both nodded looking nervous but resigned to the task ahead.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I know you can do this. Those bloody Death Wankers won't know what hit them." Sirius said with a grin on his face.

His humor helped to calm the teens down considerably both of whom were now smiling.

Sirius continued smiling at the pair while glancing at a clock on the wall. "It's time to get going."

Pulling his girlfriend into a hug he spoke softly in her ear. "Be careful Gin, keep your wand handy just in case and I'll be right behind you."

"I will Harry, you be careful too. I love you." she said.

"I love you too." Harry replied.

After sharing a kiss Ginny stepped back and tapped her ring three times appearing in the living room of the Burrow a moment later.

"Harry?" Ginny called out. "Harry?" she called again in what could be described as an excited tone. Skipping into the kitchen she made a glass of juice to wait for Harry's arrival.

Harry and Sirius watched the map closely keeping an eye on Wormtail and Ginny's dots. Harry had his wand ready prepared to use the rings to join her if the rat tried anything. Fortunately he chose to stay hidden in the living room even after Ginny went to the kitchen.

After waiting for ten minutes Harry returned Sirius to his dog form and hugged him before slipping into his invisibility cloak and leaving the apartment. Sirius continued to watch the map to let them know if Petigrew tried anything.

Sneaking down the stairs Harry stopped in the middle of the living room and after a moment of mental preparation jumped up and stumbled on the floor making just enough noise to let Wormtail think he had arrived by port key.

Walking less than silently towards the kitchen he whispered. "Ginny?"

Ginny let out a squeal of delight. "Harry! You can come out, everyone's gone."

Pulling off the cloak he laid it on a chair as Ginny ran up and hugged him.

"I've missed you so much!" she said.

"I missed you to Gin."

They shared several long passionate kisses thoroughly enjoying this part of their performance.

"How have you been love?" asked Ginny after regaining her breath.

"Alright, I'll be glad when this summer is over though, I've missed you too much." replied Harry tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "What do you want to do this afternoon?"

"Nothing." she said as they continued their performance for Wormtail. "I just want to stay right here with you not having to worry about you leaving or anyone catching us for once."

Harry gave her a warm smile. "I like that idea."

Pulling her close they resumed kissing for several long minutes until Padfoot came downstairs without barking meaning Wormtail had left. They returned to the apartment and changed Padfoot back to a portrait.

"He's gone." Sirius said. "You should both go put on your armor."

The pair nodded and went to change returning a short time later dressed in dragon hide armor covered by plain black battle robes.

"Alright you two I'll be watching from here you be careful ok?"

"We will be." they promised.

After changing the portrait back into Padfoot Harry and Ginny each gave him a hug and went downstairs with a map to wait.

* * *

Peter Petigrew appeared in front of Riddle Manor and quickly made his way inside. Passing through the various corridors he finally arrived at his Lord's throne room. Entering he kept his head bowed and stood to one side waiting to be called. 

"Ah, Wormtail, what do you have to report?" hissed Voldemort.

Stepping forward Wormtail kneeled before Voldemort kissing the hem of his robes before standing. "M.M.My L.Lord, I have j.just come from the Weasley's house. P.Potter and the Weasley g.girl are there alone. I l.listened to their conversation for awhile they do not expect anyone and are p.p.planning an evening alone together in the house."

Voldemort let out an evil laugh. "Good Wormtail. You have done well. Step forward."

Shaking with fear Wormtail approached the Dark Lord. Voldemort took hold of his left armpushing up Wormtail's sleeve to reveal the dark mark tattooed there. Pain shot through Pettigrew's body as Voldemort pressed his thumb to the mark summoning his Death Eaters.

"My faithful Death Eaters. Today we strike a deadly blow to the side of light. Today Harry Potter dies. Ready the dementors we leave in one hour."

* * *

The Weasley's were sitting in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place speculating about what was going on. It was just after 2:00 PM when Albus arrived. 

"Albus," said Molly, "it's enough. I insist you tell us what's going on."

Raising his hands to forestall further comments he waited for the Weasley's mumbling to die down. "I will shortly Molly, but first I need to summon the Order."

Reaching within his robes Albus withdrew a silver phoenix medallion and tapped it five times with his wand indicating an emergency meeting. Within a minute the members had already begun arriving.

"Alright children upstairs you go." Molly said directing her four youngest to leave.

"Actually Molly I believe they should stay this time." Albus interjected.

"They're too young. They have no business being involved with the Order." scolded Molly.

"Not this time Molly. I believe it is important they join us." Dumbledore's tone brook no argument and Molly backed down though she was clearly not happy about it. The boys were smiling glad to be able to attend. Ginny's face however was all business.

Severus arrived a few minutes later. "Headmaster I have just been summoned."

Dumbledore nodded and continued to wait for the rest of the Order to arrive. The mood in the kitchen was somber the uncharacteristic seriousness on Dumbledore's face causing everyone to wait quietly.

It was 2:30 by the time the last members had arrived and Dumbledore began. He looked around the room at all the faces gathered here hoping he would be able to see them all again later tonight.

"I want to thank you all for responding to my call. You are all the very best the light has to offer and I'm honored to have you by my side today." Everyone was deathly quite and beginning to look nervous as they listened to their leader's words. "Monday I received a letter from Harry Potter asking me to meet with him. I met Harry, Ginevra and a rather ingenious portrait of Sirius at the Leaky Caldron."

Molly turned her glare from the Headmaster to Ginny. "Ginny Weasley! You knew where Harry was and didn't tell anyone? What were you thinking young lady!"

Ginny turned from Molly to the Headmaster who gave her a small nod. After nodding in return she relaxed her morph and returned to her normal face.

Molly along with much of the room gasped. "Tonks?" Looking around the room frantically her gaze finally settled to moving back and forth between Tonks and Dumbledore. "Where? Where is my Ginny?"

"Please quiet down everyone. Miss Tonks if you please." said Dumbledore as he regained control of the room.

Tonks took a deep breath before starting worried about being on the receiving end of Molly's wrath. "I received a letter from Harry Monday as well. He asked me to take Ginny's place starting last night. After taking on her appearance I apperated directly into her room and went to bed. He wouldn't say why just that it was critical I do so and not to tell anyone other than Dumbledore especially the Weasleys until this meeting. He said it was important no one knew I wasn't Ginny until now."

Arthur was holding a very upset Molly as he turned to Dumbledore. "Albus where is our daughter?" he asked quietly.

"I believe Ginny is with Harry right now. As I was saying earlier I met Harry, Ginny and Sirius Portrait at the Leaky Cauldron. At that time he entrusted a secret to me after I somewhat impetuously promised to assist him in whatever way I could. It seems the three of them have been doing a lot of planning this summer and decided it would be prudent for the good of the wizarding world to ask for us to assist as backup should their plan fail."

The room had once again become very quiet as the Order hung on his every word. It was McGonagall who finally broke the silence. "What is their plan Albus?"

Albus met her gaze staring for a few seconds before looking at a clock on the counter which read 3:15. Returning his gaze to Minerva he took a deep breath before dropping what he knew was going to be a big bomb.

"The final battle with Voldemort and his Death Eaters began 15 minutes ago."

The instant the words left his mouth the room became chaos. Everyone was talking, screaming and crying. Finally Severus held his wand high letting a loud bang erupt from its tip regaining some control over the room.

"Enough! This is not helping." he said loudly. "At least I understand now why you did not want me to answer the Dark Lord's summons. What do we need to do?"

Albus smiled at his friend and turned back to the room. "At 3:30 we will apperate to coordinates just outside the battle. Ron I will provide you with a port key. Kingsley and Alastor I need you to go to the ministry and bring all the aurors you can to my location." Removing a length of rope from within his robes he handed it to Kingsley. "This is a port key that will bring you to us. Three taps of your wand to activate it. Do not use it before 3:30."

After taking the port key Kingsley and Moody apperated to the ministry to gather what support they could.

"Albus why aren't we there now? What are we waiting for?" asked Arthur clearly worried about his daughter and the boy he considered a son.

"I was not given details but I believe they needed time to spring a trap. Should we arrive too early we could ruin everything they were hoping to achieve and possible put them in further danger. You must understand we are going as a secondary force. Harry mentioned that we would not be capable of joining the battle unless their plan failed at which point it would fall to us to finish what he has started."

Gasps were heard all around the room. "You don't mean..." Remus said with a look of horror on his face.

A look of determination appeared on Dumbledore's face as he responded. "This is what Harry and Ginny asked of us and this is what we will do. He was insistent that his plans were already in motion and would proceed with or without us. I have every faith in Harry and Ginny. We will win this war. We will win it today!"

Looking at the clock Dumbledore noted the time to be 3:29. Producing a map from within his robes he laid it on the table. "Everyone is familiar with the Weasley's property." he said looking around the room for confirmation. Pointing on the map to the spot Harry had given him days before he told them. "This is our destination. Under no circumstances are you to try to apperate onto the property. You will not be able to and the consequences of attempting to would most likely be severe. Mr. Weasley," he said handing Ron an old quill, "here is your port key. Tap it with your wand to activate it."

With a final look around the room he took a deep breath. "Wands out. Good luck everyone. Be safe." With his final words said he apperated.

Moments later Dumbledore arrived with Ron arriving next to him. "Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed looking towards the Burrow.

* * *

Harry and Ginny sat on the couch in the living room staring at the map. As the clock struck 3:00 PM they began seeing Death Eaters and Dementors appear at the edge of the property. After a few minutes a final dot appeared. The dot was labeled 'T. Riddle'. 

Hand in hand they stepped outside the front door and walked out onto the lawn. The sight of Voldemort's followers sent chills down their spines. There were around 100 dementors and at least that many Death Eaters.

Nodding to each other Ginny pointed her wand back towards the Burrow and Harry pointed his towards the edge of the property. Together they muttered the activation phrase for the wards they had created in Parseltongue. As they finished their spells transparent green domes rose from the ground, a small one around the Burrow and a larger one which encompassed the entirety of the Weasley's property trapping Voldemort and his forces in between.

The Death Eaters appeared to be getting nervous until Voldemort's laugh could be heard rising above their mutterings. 'He must have cast sonorous.' Harry thought.

"Potter, do you really think you can win? Surrender now and perhaps I'll let the girl live."

Harry took a deep breath and cast the charm on himself. "Sorry Tom, no can do. How about you surrender and I'll let you and your little Death Munchers live." Canceling the charm he shared a quick chuckle with Ginny as they looked down the hill upon an obviously enraged Dark Lord.

"Send the dementors forward. Now!" roared Voldemort.

The air became cold and the bad memories started coming forward. Harry and Ginny brought their Occulmency shields up all the way to block most oftheir effects. Concentrating on happy memories of each other they cast the destructive Patronus spell Harry had found weeks before.

As the Parseltongue spell left his lips a dozen glowing green stags left the tip of his wand and charged the dementors. Each dementor that came in contact with one of the stags burst into a cloud of smoke leaving behind only their ratty robes. He repeated the spell sending another dozen stags into the fray.

Ginny blushed as she cast the spell creating twelve glowing green Harry Potters with swords which immediately charged the dementors. She too cast the spell a second time creating another dozen.

They stopped after casting the spell twice each needing to save their energy for the battle to come. Fifteen minutes later not a single dementor was left alive.

Quickly before Voldemort and his Death Eaters could react Harry and Ginny swallowed an energy potion to replace what they had used so far activating the wards and casting the Patronus.

Harry and Ginny both cast sonorous and laughed out loud at Voldemort wanting to enrage him further hoping he would loose his focus and be more reckless in his anger.

"Sorry Tom, you'll have to do better than that." laughed Harry before removing the spell once again.

A raging Voldemort signaled his Death Eaters forward and began walking towards the couple. They had to begin dodging as curses began coming their way.

Ginny cast a strong shield while Harry drove his wand into the ground and activated the Golems. Immediately 36 fifteen foot tall stone statues came to life and stood up from within the ground.

The advancing Death Eaters paused momentarily not believing what they were seeing and then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Dumbledore heard the cries of shock and fear from the Order members and aurors as they arrived. Looking across the battle field in front of him he was met with a sight the likes of which he hadn't seen since the final battle with Grindelwald. 

The ground was littered with empty robes and groups of craters and rubble littered the area. It was hard to see through the clouds of smoke and debris that wafted about. The Death Eaters were in disarray having lost their ability to act as a unit. Fifteen foot stone creatures rampaged through their midst crushing any who came within their reach.

Reducto and Killing Curses were flying in every direction some of the Death Eaters hitting their own in the confusion. The spells were only taking chunks out of the large automatons sometimes blowing off an appendage. Occasionally enough damage would be done to cause one of them to collapse the binding magic gone, its fight over.

Only Voldemort was able to fight the creatures with any amount of success. He was able to reduce entire Golems to rubble with a single spell.

Looking further up the hill he could see two black robed figures fighting furiously. Weaving and dodging their spells taking out five or six Death Eaters at a time.

In spite of the scene before him he smiled impressed with what the pair was pulling off but he was worried about the fight they had yet to get too.

* * *

Only a few of the golems remained and Voldemort was quickly dispatching them but they had accomplished what Harry and Ginny needed them too. As Voldemort finished off the last of the golems Ginny stunned the last Death Eater. 

Voldemort surveyed the battle field as he approached the teens. "I'm impressed Harry. I would never have guessed you would last this long or do this well against me. I will give you a final chance to join me."

Harry laughed out loud at his nemesis. "Surely you're kidding Tom. You have to know I would never join a slime ball like you."

If Voldemort was angered by Harry's comments he didn't show it. "Come now Harry you don't actually think you have a chance against me in a dual. Even you can't be that arrogant."

In a flash it happened. Voldemort raised his wand toward Harry but at the last second pointed it at Ginny and shouted "Crucio!"

Her screams of agony echoed through the air. Harry turned to her distracted by her pain for a second when Voldemort pulled a second wand from within his robes pointing it at Harry. "Expelliarmus!" he cried.

As Harry was thrown back he felt his wand leave his hand. Ginny's cries stopped as Voldemort lifted the spell now cackling gleefully.

"My Harry it seems your fortune has changed." He said stepping forward towards Harry. "Why don't we see what else you had planned before I kill you. Legilimens!"

Harry felt an incredibly powerful presence forcing its way into his mind. He managed to hold it off for a few minutes but it was too strong and eventually he felt his outer walls crumble after which his memories of the battle began to come forward.

He watched unable to stop the flow of consciousness as he created the Golems with Ginny. He saw their plan and thecreation of the shields and felt Voldemort's intrigue as he realized the spells were in Parseltongue and were extremely powerful.

Harry felt the probe change as Voldemort went after his knowledge of Parseltongue magic. All the spells he had learned from Salazar's books flowed forth. As the information on the final spell was taken by Voldemort the probe ended and Harry collapsed to the ground utterly spent.

Voldemort began laughing again sending chills down Harry's spine, an evil grin on his serpent like face. "Thank you Harry. You have given me powerful tools which I will put to good use against Dumbledore and his Order just as soon as I finish here with you. With the power of these spells they won't stand a chance against me!" his laughing continued as he finished his diatribe.

Harry tried to stand groaning when he was unable to and fell back to the ground.

"Now, now Harry. Still trying to play the hero? Perhaps it's time to end our little game. Let's see what was the spell you were going to use on me? Soul Expulsion was it? How about we use that one on you? From what I know of the Queen of the Realm of the Dead she will not be happy about your arrival having been forced to recall your soul. I'm sorry to say you will never know your parents even in death a death which in your case will be filled with an eternity of pain."

Voldemort's grin widened. "Goodbye Harry Potter."

As Voldemort spoke the incantation an area of darkness surrounded the pair. Cold unlike anything either of them had ever felt swept over them and a female voice boomed from within the depths of the shadow.

"Stand before me and be judged."

Struggling with everything he had left Harry stood, facing the void from which the voice came. He stood for what seemed like days though it was only seconds before the voice returned much softer, filled with compassion and speaking only to him. "You have much love in your heart. I find you worthy. You may remain."

Voldemort chuckled as he heard the voice in the shadowknowing Harry was about to loose his soul. His glee changed to fear as he felt the eyes weighing him from within the void. The voice that followed struck terror in his heart as nightmares on wings flew from within the void to attack him. "You have been judged and have been found wanting. For your maleficence you will pay for all eternity."

* * *

The warriors of the light froze as Voldemort destroyed the last Golem and approached the pair they now knew was Harry and Ginny. 

They could see them conversing for a few moments before a beam of light connected Voldemort with Ginny and her screams tore through the air. Molly cried out and tears could be seen on the faces of many.

A moment later they watched as Harry was hit with a spell and thrown to the ground. Hearts dropped when Voldemort's laughter broke through the air and Harry didn't get up.

A second spell connected Voldemort to Harry this one lasting much longer. Dumbledore instinctively knew Harry's mind was being probed and he feared the knowledge Voldemort would obtain.

The Order and aurors were becoming restless as they watched Voldemort speaking to Harry after ending his spell. Cries of outrage and revenge were passing among their ranks along with feelings of helplessness as they could not pass through the wards around the property.

Dumbledore's breath hitched as he saw Voldemort raise his wand for what he knew was the final time. Darkness enveloped the pair and horrible gut wrenching screams were heard coming from the darkness. Everyone's hearts dropped as they feared the worst.

As the darkness cleared a lone figure was standing though barely it seemed. He slowly walked forward several paces before falling to his knees. Everyone watched as he picked up a wand and pointed it at the green wards encircling the Burrow causing them to fall a moment later. The procedure was repeated bringing down the outer wards allowing the Order to rush forward.

After dropping the wards Harry crawled to Ginny who was lying a few meters away. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found her breathing and wrapped an arm around her before loosing consciousness.


	9. Epilogue

**Chapter 9 – Epilogue**

"Enervate."

Ginny opened her eyes to find Madam Pomphrey standing over her. Her entire body ached and she found herself wondering how many hippogriffs had been in the herd that ran her over.

Several potions were forced down her throat causing her to grimace as not a single one of them tasted remotely good. 'Must have been brewed by Snape.' she thought.

As the pain receded the events of the day came flooding back causing her to sit up, her entire being instantly filled with worry about Harry. It was only Pomphrey's restraining hand that kept her from leaping from the bed to search for her love.

"Harry!" she said her eyes frantically scanning the hospital wing.

"Shhh, its ok child, Harry's fine, just tired and magically exhausted. He's sleeping." Madam Pomphrey explained in a soft, calming tone.

Ginny's eyes finally landed on a bed further down the ward. Seeing his messy black hair and the continual rise and fall of his chest as he slept calmed her.

"You're sure he's ok?" asked Ginny her gaze returning to her care provider.

"I promise he's fine." she replied smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"My whole body hurt when I woke up but I feel fine now."

Pomphrey was nodding. "The after effects of an extremely powerful pain curse. You may be sore for a couple of days but you're free to go."

Ginny got dressed and walked over to Harry. Making sure Madam Pomphrey wasn't looking she cast a quick spell to remove a memory block she had placed and pocketed her wand. Placing a gentle kiss on his forehead she pulled up a chair and sat down to wait.

Madam Pomphrey smiled softly as she noticed Ginny sitting beside Harry's bed holding his hand. She'd banned everyone from the hospital wing while she cared for her patients but she didn't have the heart to make her leave after everything they had been through together. Walking to her office she left the young couple alone.

* * *

Harry woke and let out a groan as he recognized the familiar bright light and decor of the Hogwarts hospital wing. Looking around he found the familiar red hair of his girlfriend on the bed beside him. She was sitting in a chair next to his bed holding his hand and had fallen asleep. 

Deciding she looked uncomfortable he picked up his wand from the nightstand and carefully levitated her into bed with him. Wrapping his arms around her she unconsciously snuggled into him and he drifted back to sleep.

Ginny woke slowly feeling much more comfortable than she remembered being when she fell asleep sitting with Harry the night before. As she opened her eyes she found the emerald green eyes of her boyfriend staring back. She started to say something but was quickly stopped when Harry pressed a finger to her lips.

He moved the finger to his own lips letting her know he wanted her to stay quite then nodded his head to the side. As she listened she realized there was someone else in the room and by the angry ramblings she could make out it was her brother Ron.

"Bloody git. What the hell does he think he's doing with my sister? When he wakes up I'm going to kill him." Ron was muttering.

Harry and Ginny shared a grin almost laughing out loud before Harry pulled her in for a long kiss. It was, of course, at this point that Ron noticed the pair was awake.

"What the hell are you doing to my sister Potter?" Ron roared.

Ginny sat up to begin defending Harry. "Mind your own…"

Harry stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok Gin. I can handle this." As she looked at him he mouthed 'trust me' to her and she nodded.

Harry then turned to face an angry Ron Weasley. "Ron, before you get all bent out of shape could you do me a favor and grab a couple things out of my robe pocket over there?" Harry said gesturing to his robes which were hanging on the wall.

Ron grumbled something about snitches, glue and the giant squid but went to search the pockets of Harry's robes. A minute later he pulled two pictures out of one of the pockets and his look of anger changed to one of fear and panic as his gaze went back and forth from Harry to the pictures. It was several minutes before he could speak. "Ok then Harry, just so we understand each other." He then bolted from the room leaving behind a hysterically laughing Harry and Ginny.

Madam Pomphrey appeared moments later and after much pampering pronounced Harry fit and able to leave.

As Harry was about to get dressed Professor Dumbledore arrived. "Harry, Ginny, it's good to see you both back up and about."

"Thank you Professor." they replied.

"When you're ready if you could join us in my office there are several people who wish to see you both." the Headmaster said twinkling all the while.

A few minutes later Harry and Ginny were walking through the entrance hall when Harry was attacked by a large amount of bushy brown hair.

As the hug ended Hermione wiped tears from her eyes and started in on Harry. "Harry Potter! Just what did you think you were doing running away like that? And then that stunt the two of you pulled! You could have been hurt or worse! You're lucky I was gone all summer or I would have… well Harry you shouldn't… Oh Harry I'm just glad your ok." she finished jumping on Harry for another hug.

Over Hermione's shoulder he could see Ginny doing her best to keep from laughing at his predicament.

"Shhh, its ok Hermione. Everything is ok now." Harry said as he patted her back and glared at his girlfriend making her want to laugh even more. Eventually Hermione pulled away from the embrace and moved to Ginny giving her a hug as well. "I'm glad you're ok too."

"When I got back from vacation yesterday and saw the Daily Profit I didn't know what to think." Hermione handed him the paper as she said this.

_The Boy-Who-Lived and His Girlfriend_

_Defeat You-Know-Who and his Army_

_In an incredible and daring victory Harry Potter The-Boy-Who-Lived and his girlfriend Ginny Weasley The-Girl-Who-Loved led You-Know-Who and his army of Death Eaters and Dementors into an ambush. Trapping them between two incredibly powerful shields the amazing pair destroyed the dementors before summoning an army of their own consisting of fifteen foot tall stone golems. A great battle ensued during which all of the Death Eaters were either killed or captured. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley then dueled with You-Know-Who eventually coming out victorious. The young couple was unconscious following the battle and taken to a secure location to be healed._

_It is rumored the pair have been recommended for The Order of Merlin 1st Class. We at the daily profit wish them both the very best and thank them for their selfless actions._

_-Rita Skeeter_

_Page 2 - The Battle of the Burrow  
__Page 3 - Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley  
__Page 4 - Peter Petigrew found alive! Sirius Black Innocent!  
__Page 5 - Death Eater Names and Trial Dates_

Harry looked towards Ginny with a grin on his face. "The-Girl-Who-Loved eh?" he said causing Ginny to blush.

A laughing Harry gave Ginny a soft kiss eliciting a gasp from a shocked Hermione.

"I thought the paper was exaggerating again, when did this happen?" Hermione asked.

The couple turned smiling towards their friend. "At the beginning of the summer." said Ginny, "Come on, let's go see Dumbledore there's a lot to tell."

With their arms wrapped securely around each other, Harry and Ginny continued on to the Headmaster's office with Hermione following close behind.

Entering the office they found several Order members, the Weasley's and Remus who immediately swept Harry into a bone crushing hug.

"Cant…Breath...Moony…" Harry managed to choke out.

"Sorry Harry," he said sheepishly as he pulled back still holding Harry at arms length. "You just had me so worried. I thought I'd lost you for a minute at the end there." After another slightly less painful hug he released him.

After everyone greeted Harry and Ginny they took seats on the couch and waited for the questioning to begin.

"First of all you two," Molly stated with her hands on her hips as she eyed her daughter, "I would like to know where Harry has been staying all this time."

Harry and Ginny both gulped and after sharing a look Harry replied. "I've been at the Burrow all summer."

"WHAT!" the confusion and questioning was similar all around the room except for the Headmaster who was sitting behind his desk twinkling like mad.

Shaking off her confusion at the answer Molly continued. "I'm sorry Harry I thought you just said you were at the Burrow all summer?"

Harry just nodded.

"How is it we never saw you young man?" she asked.

Harry grinned and pointed to Ginny. "That's her fault. She was my secret keeper."

Ginny punched Harry in the arm and whispered quietly, "Thanks a lot Harry."

Once everyone quieted down Harry and Ginny told their story. They told about their trips to Diagon Alley and all their different purchases. They told about the Black and Potter Family Vaults and the different books they found. They explained about the door and how they cast the Fidilius charm on it.

It was at this point Harry had a thought and leaned in to whisper to Ginny. After a brief conversation her face lit with mischief and she nodded fervently. Turning to face Ginny he pulled her into an embrace giving her the necessary cover to draw her wand. With a quick glance back towards the occupants of the room Harry said, "Be right back."

Turning back towards his girlfriend he placed a light kiss on her lips as she tapped his ring three times.

Remus, Moody and Tonks broke down in hysterical laughter as the room dissolved into chaos at the pair's disappearance. Even the Headmaster had a look of shock on his face knowing they should not have been able to do that, though he continued to twinkle brightly.

The room had just began to calm and was looking towards the three who were laughing for an explanation when Harry and Ginny returned with grins that would make the original Marauders proud.

"What? How? Where? Why?" were just a few of the questions directed their way when everyone noticed their arrival.

Remus in particular was still chuckling. "Nice one there Harry. Any chance you could teach me to travel by kiss?...Actually could you teach Nymphadora and she could teach me." The combination of blushing from his suggestion and scowling from the use of her first name caused Remus to laugh even harder and the rest of the room to join in.

Deciding to keep the rings to themselves Harry reached into his robes pulling out a small dog to hopefully redirect everyone's attention. As he set the magical statue on the ground it grew into Padfoot who immediately tackled Remus barking loudly and covering him in slobber.

Remus was smiling broadly with tears in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Padfoot's neck hugging his lost friend. "I've missed you Padfoot." he whispered.

As they parted Padfoot grabbed Remus robes with his teeth and pulled him to the couch sitting him next to Harry. He then sat next to the couch looking expectantly at his godson.

Harry still feeling mischievous just sat there with a small smile on his face looking back.

Padfoot getting impatient barked several times looking at Harry as if to say 'What the hell are you waiting for?'

Grinning internally Harry kept egging him on. "What is it boy? Are you hungry?" He had a hard time not laughing at the look on the dogs face especially with Ginny sniggering behind him.

Padfoot glared at Harry and let out a low growl.

"Fine, fine, you're no fun." laughed Harry, "Padfoot, show me Sirius."

Everyone was in shock as the portrait of Sirius appeared. Dumbledore had mentioned meeting with a 'rather ingenious portrait of Sirius' but no one had ever seen a magical artifact quite like Padfoot.

"Hello all. Hey Moony." said a grinning Sirius.

Remus was grinning ear to ear shifting in his seat as if he wanted to hug his friend. "It's really good to see you Siri."

"My, my how touching." sneered Snape, "What a wonderfully tearful reunion between the werewolf and mutt."

Remus started to get angry but relaxed as Harry placed a calming hand on his shoulder. Sirius however just grinned at Snape. "It's good to see you to Snivellus. By the way, do you still wear that underwear with the purple dinosaurs on it?"

A brief look of panic crossed the potion masters face before his scowl returned and he crossed his arms his only response to glare back at the laughing portrait.

Clearing his throat a smiling Headmaster gained the attention of the room. "As amusing as this all is, perhaps we could hear the rest of Harry and Ginny's explanation of the summer's events."

With Padfoot's help Harry and Ginny told the rest of their story explaining all about their training, the maps, finding the spells they would need, the plan and the battle.

After finishing their story everyone sat quietly pondering the events of the last few months. It was Dumbledore who broke the silence with a final question. "There is one thing I was curious about. You have told us about the spell you used to defeat Voldemort. What I don't understand is how you convinced him to cast it when the spell's description clearly said that if the castors intent was evil his soul would be recalled."

Harry and Ginny shared a grin before Harry turned back to Dumbledore. "Simple really, that was one of our backup plans. After we figured out the spell we wrote an alternate description that left out the part about evil intent. I had Ginny place a block on my mind to hide the spell from me and then relearned it with the alternate description. I was never sure if I would be able to go through with casting it or not even on him, but I knew Voldemort wouldn't have a problem with it. I figured he would find it poetic to use the spell I was going to vanquish him with on me."

Dumbledore laughed out loud finding the justice of it all to be amusing.

"So," began Arthur Weasley looking deadly serious, "Mr. Potter, you're telling me you have been living in my daughters bedroom all summer?"

"Umm, well you see.., I mean...well...it's like…" Harry stuttered clearly worried.

Molly took this opportunity to punch her husband in the shoulder. "Arthur, stop teasing the boy."

A smile appeared on Mr. Weasley's face as he began to chuckle. "I'm sorry Harry I was just teasing you. We trust you and know you wouldn't do anything dishonorable."

The entire room shared a laugh as Harry and Ginny let out a pair of sighs.

"There's still a week left of summer. Where would you like to stay until the term starts Harry?" Dumbledore said with his knowing smile.

Harry looked around the room his gaze finally landing on the girl next to him whose hand he was holding. Giving her hand a quick squeeze he smiled looking into her eyes. "I want to go home."

-FINIS-


End file.
